The Need to Become Stronger
by Sophronius
Summary: Even with the world's most powerful demon in your stomach, saving the world is not that easy. Any young ninja who wishes to survive to fulfil his ambitions must first learn that some problems can't be solved with any amount of chakra, and that battles are decided by the time swords are drawn, not when they are sheathed. (Rational!Naruto)
1. Status Quo

**Disclaimer:** All rights and credit for creating the beautiful world and characters of Naruto go to Masashi Kishimoto.

The story can also be found on my website: needtobecomestronger DOT wordpress DOT com. The website includes the latest updates to the story, a map of the Naruto world, and more.

I would like to present to you all my story, which aims to create a more rational version of the Naruto universe. The idea behind rationalist fiction is to have intelligent characters acting realistically (so more like actual ninjas!), with powers that work in logically consistent ways (and which don't appear/disappear as the plot demands). The characters are a bit older and smarter, and the riddles and challenges are generally solved by the character's (and the reader's) wits rather than by just casting a bigger Rasengan. Aside from that the goal is simply to write a good story that focuses on everything that made the Naruto world so great in the first place.

The story is written to be accessible even if you know little or nothing about Naruto. Please note: The Prologue has now been removed as it was written in a different style from the rest of the story. However, you can still find it on my website. The story is generally considered to really hit its stride after chapter 4, so I would encourage anyone who does not like the earlier chapters and characters to give it a chance until chapter 5 at least.

Please feel free to review any chapter you do or do not like! Reviews make me happy and a happy author writes faster.

* * *

 _Of the five great ninja Villages, the Village Hidden in the Leaves was undoubtedly the greatest._

"Please excuse me!" Iruka pressed his way through the mass of bodies, bowing beneath the disapproving glares of the pale-eyed men and women that made up the branch house of the Noble Hyūga Clan. "Has anyone seen my student? Blond hair, wears orange? Excuse me; I really am terribly sorry about all this…"

 _In order to bring an end to the senseless conflict of the Warring Clans era, the legendary First Hokage Senju Hashirama united the many clans in the Land of Fire by founding Konohagakure, and in doing so introduced the unique concept of one shinobi Village per country. Having a central base of operations for the nation's entire military presented a level of organisation entirely unlike the chaotic clan warfare that had given the Warring Clans Era its dark name._

Iruka found his student flickering rapidly between the rooftops of the Hyūga clan's compound, to which entry was strictly forbidden even to respectable outsiders, let alone the orphan boy that had just invaded their territory. "Uzumaki Naruto!" he cried out. "Just what do you think you are doing?"

The boy let out a surprised yelp at the sound of Iruka's voice, and promptly fell from the roof, only to land right on top of the white marble statue of Hyūga Hiashi, the esteemed head of Konoha's greatest remaining noble clan. Iruka winced internally at the sight, knowing full well who would receive the blame for this debacle in the end.

"It's okay!" the boy chirped out. "Bruises heal quickly!"

 _After the First Hokage's death his younger brother Senju Tobirama took up the title of Second Hokage, founding the Ninja Academy and the Anbu as well as establishing the rules and regulations that came to dominate Shinobi life. So successful were these organisations that the other countries had no choice but to follow suit: In each and every case, Konoha led the way, and the rest followed in their footsteps._

"Oh, Iruka-sensei!" the boy exclaimed, noticing him for the first time. He clambered down from the statue, leaving it covered with muddy footprints. "I was just gonna figure out how the body-flicker technique worked, but then I kept going to see how many times I could cast it in a row, and I was just starting to run out of chakra when suddenly all these people started yelling at me and chasing after me –like it's _my_ fault these buildings all look the same from above!" The boy stood up and dusted himself off, smearing more dirt onto his worn orange pants and jacket while a whole army of frantic Hyūga branch members rushed to investigate the statue's damages. "So what are you doing here, Iruka-sensei? Aren't you supposed to be teaching or something?"

Iruka stared at his student in disbelief. "It's _your_ class I'm supposed to be teaching, Uzumaki Naruto!"

" _Oh_ … right." The boy scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I guess I must've forgot."

 _Of course, no great nation is without its enemies, and so it has been for Konoha. Three times the Land of Fire was embroiled in a Ninja World War, when the jealous countries of Stone, Sand, Mist, and Lightning sought to encroach upon Konoha's territory. However, Konoha's shinobi fought back valiantly, and under the leadership of its heroic Hokages they emerged triumphant every time. Yet after not even three years of hard-fought peace, the unsuspecting Village was once again faced with an enemy, one more terrible than all those that had come before…_

"…for in the Village there had appeared a mighty daemon fox, a monstrous mass of pure chakra and malevolence that lashed out at all living things without reason or purpose, and its size was so great that its shadow cast all of Konoha into darkness. One swing of its nine tails was enough to crumble mountains or cause tsunamis to rise up from the oceans. In order to fight-"

"Excuse me, Iruka-sensei?" A familiar student in the back row of the class was holding up his right hand to indicate a question, though since he continued speaking right away he seemed to have missed the intended purpose of the gesture. "If the Kyūbi was so big it could destroy mountains and stuff with its tails, and it was inside Konoha for almost an hour… how come the Village is still here?"

"The Village survived," Iruka explained irritably, "because of the actions of the Fourth Hokage, who nobly sacrificed himself in order to defeat the rampaging beast. You would have known that, Uzumaki Naruto, if you had been paying attention at all in class this year!"

The blond troublemaker was originally an orphan from the Land of Whirlpools, which had been destroyed shortly before the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha, and it was clear to Iruka that the boy had never quite managed to fit in. Moreover, there was something off about him, like a subtle underlying foulness to his chakra that instantly put Iruka on guard.

"About that…" Naruto said. "Uhm. Did he really defeat the Kyūbi all by himself? I mean, he had a whole army with him. Is it possible that some of the other ninja maybe helped him a little bit?"

"You would discredit the Fourth Hokage's legacy?" Iruka was more astonished than angry, but even so, it was clear he would never become fond of this particular student. That infuriatingly cautious tone the boy used, that said 'I don't think I'm smarter than you, honest,' was not exactly helping, either. Iruka slammed his hand onto the table. "The Fourth Hokage was a great hero who sacrificed himself so that you might live, yet you deface his memory by questioning his heroism!" The whole class was shooting dirty looks at Naruto now, and the boy rightly shrunk back in his seat in shame. Iruka turned back to reading from his history scroll, satisfied that his student had been sufficiently rebuked. _Hopefully this means I can actually finish the day's lesson plan for once._

It was just another day in peaceful Konoha, in the Land of Fire, where the sun always shines.

* * *

"Today we are going to focus on our taijutsu," Iruka-sensei declared. "Everyone pair up and practice sparring together."

The ordinary looking man – Naruto would have trouble distinguishing him from any other black-and-green clad chūnin-rank shinobi if not for the horizontal scar running across his face – read from his lesson plan as he spoke. Naruto was not entirely sure why he needed the scroll, since 'tell students to practice hand-to-hand combat' seemed pretty easy even for him to remember, but it was probably safer not to ask.

The class of thirty students and one teacher had gathered on an open field of dirt, an area which had been set up next to the massive round and red Academy building for the physical part of their ninja training. Usually there was more in the way of training equipment, but they had put that in the storage closet for today's exercise. The morning sun was shining brightly as it always did, and all around Naruto drowsy classmates were huddling together and pairing up.

Naruto blinked, suddenly remembering that he was supposed to find a partner, and hastily looked around to see who was still unaccounted for. He walked up to one of the rougher looking boys, Kiba –most noticeable for the white dog he kept around wherever he went – and pulled on his jacket as he walked past.

"Hey. Hey, Kiba! Wanna spar?"

"Beat it, Naruto." The taller boy wrinkled his nose at him before walking away, which Naruto thought was terribly unfair: He had bathed only two days ago, so he could hardly smell worse than the Inuzuka – a ninja clan that was said to sleep with their own dogs. Whenever he mentioned this fact some of the older students would burst out in laughter, but when Naruto asked why he never received any reply.

Undaunted, he turned his attention to the next classmate he saw.

"Hey Ino!" He waved at the heir of the Yamanaka clan, but the most popular girl of the class barely even looked at him, only frowning slightly as if examining a particularly curious insect before turning away.

Thinking of insects, Naruto looked towards Shino, but the insect-controlling Aburame clan member was already teaming up with Kiba. He turned his hopes to Shikamaru, but the Nara clan heir was with the rotund Choji as always. The two of them were pretending to train together, but in reality they were just chatting and gazing at the sparse clouds that drifted lazily along the sky.

Ever since Iruka's outburst a few weeks ago, the other students had treated Naruto with even more disdain than before. Naruto was unsure what he had done that was so terrible to deserve this, but whatever it was, he resolved not to do it again. It was difficult to learn from your mistakes, however, when people got angry at you just for asking what you did wrong.

He brightened up when he saw Sakura, a pretty girl with pink hair and a pink dress. Well, he thought she was pretty, anyway: Ino teased her for her large forehead, while others teased her for spending her free time in the library, peering over old scrolls. She could be mean sometimes, but she was one of the only people who talked to Naruto on any regular basis, which earned her a special place in his heart.

"Sakura-chan!" he called out. "Do you wanna-?"

"Out of the way, I have to get to Sasuke-kun before Ino does!" She pushed past Naruto with such haste that he fell on his backside, squealing Sasuke's name as she ran up to him and began fawning over her one-sided crush. The last member of the Uchiha clan seemed content with practicing alone, yet both Sakura and Ino were oblivious to the fact. He noticed that some of the other students were shooting envious looks at Sasuke as well.

 _What's so special about that guy? My clan is gone too, but nobody ever seems to care about that._ Yet even as he thought that, there was a part of Naruto that knew perfectly well that the 'genius' heir of the Uchiha Clan was rich and handsome, and that he himself was not.

As Naruto stood up and shook the dirt from his clothes, an idea occurred to him, and he walked up to the boy with a renewed sense of purpose. "Sasuke!" he yelled at the Uchiha's back. "Spar with me!"

The others immediately told him to bugger off, but Sasuke, surprisingly, did not. The taller boy calmly turned around, and when Naruto saw his eyes he almost stumbled again in shock: There was none of the contempt there that he had expected, only a cool expression of perfect emptiness. Those black eyes calmly looked him over, and then turned away without as much as a single word.

Naruto's mouth slowly opened and closed again. He stood there wordlessly as Sasuke went back to practicing his taijutsu moves, while the others went back to fawning over him. It was one thing to be ignored, Naruto thought, but being looked at like that and then dismissed as nothing was somehow even worse. Without pausing to think about it, he kneeled down and scooped up a handful of muddy dirt, and flung it directly at the back of Sasuke's head. It impacted his sparkly-clean jet-black hair with a wet _splorch_ , a sound which was immediately followed by deathly silence.

"Fight me," Naruto said, repeating his challenge.

"Naruto!" yelled Sakura, and Ino and the others echoed her as well. "How dare you ruin Sasuke-kun's lustrous hair!" She started to advance upon Naruto with rage writ on her face, but was shocked to see Sasuke hold out an arm to stop her.

"No, Sakura. Naruto clearly wants his duel very badly." Uchiha Sasuke turned around to face him, and Naruto ground his teeth in frustration when he saw that his expression was exactly the same as it was before. The only difference was the mud in his hair, which he left there untouched, apparently not bothered by it in the slightest. "I shall give it to him."

Naruto hesitated, unsure where to go from there. "Uhm. First to hit the ground loses?"

"Sure," said Sasuke, putting both of his hands in his pockets. "Ready when you are."

"…okay," said Naruto, who felt his confidence drain by the second. "Uhm. Go!"

He lunged at Sasuke, but the Uchiha simply stepped sideways and Naruto missed him by a mile. The second punch was thrust at Sasuke's face, but his opponent merely titled his head sideways to dodge.

"I'm sorry," said Sasuke. "Did you say go yet? I think I might have missed it."

There was cruel laughter coming from all around him, and Naruto felt his face turn red with building pressure. "Shut up!" he yelled, as Sasuke dodged a high kick. "Stand still, and fight back!"

"You are very demanding," said Sasuke, "but as you wish." When Naruto's next blow came, he pulled one hand out of his pocket and grabbed Naruto's wrist, twisting it sideways. Naruto shrieked in pain, a high-pitched sound that only elicited more laughter, and then Sasuke gave a sharp pull that yanked Naruto forwards until his mouth tasted dirt. "This means I win, right?"

The laughter seemed to continue forever, lasting deep into eternity. As it went on the sound became distorted: Their scorn pressed in on Naruto from all sides, their ridicule burrowing through his ears like worms and penetrating deep into his body, and there in the darkness it awakened a smouldering anger. The training grounds vanished: The space around him twisted and bent, the air pulsating as though with heat until only the narrow figure of Uchiha Sasuke remained within his field of vision.

Naruto launched himself at him right as Sasuke walked away, and the Uchiha only barely turned in time to defend against the ferocious assault. This time Sasuke had to take both hands from his pockets, but still he fended Naruto off easily, knocking each of his punches away with the flat of his palms. _He's more skilled than me, gotta catch him off guard and use his instincts against him._ Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs and launched a sweeping kick towards Sasuke in a round arc. Right when Sasuke made to grab for the proffered leg, Naruto threw his full weight backwards and pulled the limb back in, even as he kicked his other foot upwards towards the enemy's face. There was the briefest satisfying moment where Naruto could see Sasuke's eyes widen in shock and _spinning-_

"Interesting," he remembered him saying, and then Naruto was lying flat on his back, pain flaring through his body where his spine struck the ground.

 _What the… what just..? What the heck was that?_ For just one moment he had seen Sasuke's eyes _change_ , becoming the colour of blood and growing a second pupil shaped like a comma in each eye _._ Naruto tried to scramble away, but he was immediately kicked in the side, pain surging through his ribs as he collapsed back onto the soil.

"No, you're not getting off that easily." Sasuke was idly fingering a kunai, which he had pulled from nowhere. Naruto looked at the knife in fear, his anger draining away only to be replaced with raw terror.

"That's enough," said the voice of Sakura, worry permeating her voice. "Sasuke-kun, you've won the duel. You don't have to go any further."

"Oh, but I do." Sasuke's foot came down hard on Naruto's shoulder, and he cried out in pain even as Sasuke clutched his kunai and droveit downwards. Naruto shut his eyes in horror, but he only felt cold iron brush against the skin of his arm. _He stabbed the knife through the sleeve of my jacket,_ he realized with faint relief.

"You see, Sakura," Sasuke continued, "What you just saw was no duel. This boy attacked me, the heir to the Uchiha clan, while my back was turned." He slammed his foot onto Naruto's left shoulder and repeated the procedure of before. "A crime that, I think you'll agree, should not go unpunished."

"He's only a kid," Sakura protested feebly. "I'm sure he's learned his lesson."

"I'm sure he has, but that's not really enough, now is it?" Sasuke aimed for Naruto's legs and did the same there, pinning his right pant leg to the ground with another kunai. Naruto did not even dare kick out at him, terrified as he was that Sasuke would accidently stab him as a result. "This boy attacked me out of pure jealousy: He saw that I had something which he lacked, and like a common brigand he sought to take it from me." The last kunai was driven in, leaving Naruto completely pinned to the ground and helpless. "It is only appropriate that I take something equally valuable from him instead," he finished, as he produced a fifth and final kunai from the pouch on his hip.

"Enough," said Sakura, sounding as though it took all of her courage just to say that one word. When Naruto craned his neck he saw that she was holding Sasuke by one arm, stopping him from going any further, a dangerous look on her face. "You've made your point… now let him go."

The last of the Uchiha stared at Sakura for a moment, but then a small smile appeared on his face and he visibly relaxed. "…as you wish. I did not realize that he mattered so much to you, Sakura."

There was some scattered laughter, and Sakura's cheeks flushed crimson. "He most certainly does _not_!"

"Oh?" Sasuke shrugged and, holding the tip of his knife between two fingers, flicked it high up into the air. "Well, I'm glad to hear it."

Time seemed to stop as the blade arced higher, and higher, until it hung still directly above Naruto's prone form. Then it started falling. He tried to move out of the way, but only succeeded in cutting his arms and legs on the daggers that held him in place. Sakura tried to intercept the knife, but the last he saw before he closed his eyes was Sasuke holding her back. _I'm gonna die I'm gonna die I'm gonna die…_

There was a _thunk_ , and Naruto slowly opened his eyes, dreading to see which body part had been impaled. Instead, when he raised his head to look, he found the blade lying on the ground between his legs, right below his groin. It was a practice kunai, the kind that was used by students to spar – blunt and light and less dangerous than your average stick. The warm wetness pooling inside his pants wasn't blood then, he concluded faintly.

There was more laughter then, hesitant at first but growing ever louder as the built-up tension was released. Even Sasuke was smirking, and in his black eyes there was a twinkle of mirth. "I was only joking around, Naruto. You didn't _really_ think I was going to hurt you, did you?"

* * *

"… and honestly, you're lucky you got off so lightly," Sakura continued unabated. "I mean: Once Sasuke comes of age he'll be the _Lord Uchiha,_ and you attacked him out of petty spite. They could have _executed_ you, for that!"

Naruto stared at the empty scroll on his desk and said nothing. After the first few times having Sakura scold him he had gotten too tired to argue with her. The worst part was that he really could have gotten into serious trouble if not for Sasuke assuring Iruka-sensei that it had only been an intense sparring session which had gotten 'slightly out of hand'. Somehow, Naruto only hated him more for doing that.

"And anyway, you have to bear in mind his childhood," Sakura went on, her voice dropping to a whisper as she spoke. "Anybody would have been… affected, by what happened to him, and to his entire clan…"

Naruto glumly looked at the back of the Uchiha heir, who was sitting next to Ino today, much to Sakura's chagrin. In truth, Naruto did not really know what had happened to Sasuke's clan, though of course he had heard all the rumours by now: The most common story that went around – and the one that was repeated by officials – was that Sasuke's now-infamous brother Uchiha Itachi had gone mad and killed everybody in the middle of the night, murdering an entire clan of elite shinobi singlehandedly despite how unlikely that seemed. Then there were those who claimed it had been the ghost of Uchiha Madara, returned from the grave to punish his clan for turning their backs on him. Others insisted that the entire clan had been cursed by the spirits for their sins, or that they had been involved in a daemonic blood ritual that ended up consuming their lives – and the stories only grew more incredible from there.

His thoughts were disturbed by the opening of the classroom door, through which stepped a young chūnin with shoulder-length white hair. The man softly closed the door behind him and walked up to the teacher's desk, looking for all the world like he belonged there.

"Who are you?" Inuzuka Kiba demanded. "Where's Iruka-sensei?"

"My name is Mizuki, and I am your substitute teacher," the man replied calmly. "I'm afraid Iruka-sensei has taken some well-deserved time off; it seems he has been working very hard lately, and teaching this class has been quite stressful to him." A smile flitted across his face. "Although, if I'm perfectly honest… I suspect it's mostly one specific blond student who has been giving him difficulty as of late."

There was some scattered laughter then, and Naruto felt blood rushing to his face. _He's just the same as all the others,_ he thought bitterly. Kiba did not appear to be placated either, as he huffed and turned around in his seat, facing away from this substitute teacher. Naruto couldn't blame him: Iruka might not have been a great teacher, but at least he had been _their_ bad teacher.

"I have been reviewing Iruka-sensei's lesson plans with great interest," Mizuki went on. "I believe I see room for changes to better fit my personal approach to teaching. From now on, I intend to adjust the lessons to your individual abilities, letting go of the more conventional approach in order to-"

"So I was thinking of going out to the Yakiniku Q tonight," Kiba proclaimed loudly. "I hear their salted beef tongue hits the spot, but anything with red meat will do. Ain't that right, Akamaru?" His white canine yapped happily in response.

The teacher paused, looking at Kiba as though waiting for him to stop talking to his dog. Naruto winced internally. The Inuzuka were said to be half-feral themselves: They tended to act on instinct, and challenging the alpha was both first and second nature to them. If this new teacher did not prove himself somehow, there would not be much done in the way of teaching before the final academy exams arrived.

The man cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I really cannot allow any discussion in the classroom while I teach. A single remark may seem harmless enough, but each comment invites further discussion from the others until the entire class becomes disrupted as a result. I trust you understand."

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Kiba waved his hand in a vague gesture that might have been anything from a polite greeting to a mortal insult. The white-haired man was apparently satisfied with this response, because he turned back to the class and continued his lecture from where he left off. Not even ten second later, Kiba started talking again, louder than before. The Inuzuka were not a clan particularly given to subtlety, Naruto reflected.

The entire class was watching the new teacher now, waiting with baited breath to see how he would react. Mizuki's face twitched, and Naruto knew what was coming next: Any second now the teacher would blow up, screaming in frustration just like Iruka-sensei always did when he lost control of the class.

But instead Mizuki visibly relaxed, and calmly walked up to where Kiba sat.

"I am truly very sorry," he said, his voice now dripping with honey. "I realize this is my fault – I should have remembered to get to know my students better before starting the lesson. Your name is Inuzuka Kiba, isn't it?" The feral-looking boy said nothing, but Naruto could see him tense up. "You know, I met your mother earlier this week: She seemed a very _lively_ woman. She had quite some good advice to give on dog-rearing, too – along the lines of how a timely clip around the ears can help keep an unruly pup in line." Laughter rose up around the classroom as Kiba sputtered something inaudible and his face turned a dark shade of red, but the teacher was not done yet. "Then she invited me into her room for a late-night drink, but I had to politely refuse, since I'm allergic and I was worried I'd get a nasty rash..."

There was a moment of silence as those words sank in, and then the entire room exploded into raucous laughter. Kiba meanwhile was turning purple, and Naruto half expected him to leap out of his seat and attack the teacher then and there, but to his amazement Kiba sat back down and gave the white-haired man a look of almost grudging _respect_.

Mizuki waited patiently for the laughter to die down, but when it became clear that was not going to happen, he picked up a glass of water from his desk and threw it down onto the floor. Shards of glass flew in every direction, and the class hurriedly ducked behind their desks, instantly falling silent with shock.

The teacher coughed politely, as though that was all it had taken to get their attention. "…I realize it's easy to underestimate the gap in knowledge between what is assumed and what is actually known, but I would hope that a class of ninjas is at least familiar with the basic concept of _subterfuge_. There are more places to hide than in the shadows: The most powerful sensing techniques may be foiled by suppressing your chakra and dressing like a common servant, and some of the greatest assassinations performed in the history of the Leaf might as well have been executed by a mere civilian." There was a pause as his gaze went over the speechless class. "In short, if you wish to be strong you must be able to pretend to weakness, and you need to be able to recognize this quality in others as well. If I am forced to be your teacher I will make sure you learn at least _that_ much."

The entire class was hanging on his lips now, and what followed was the most intense classroom lecture Naruto had ever experienced. In truth, what Mizuki discussed was not all that different from Iruka's usual material, and many of the things he said were things Naruto already knew. But when Mizuki-sensei spoke, it was as though everything he said had _meaning_ : Instead of reading from a book, he seemed to choose every word with a specific intention and purpose, and every single student sat upright in their seats and listened. And so it was that when the lecture ended, Naruto was still there after all the other students had left, standing alone before the teacher's unadorned wooden desk.

The man smiled congenially at him. "Naruto, was it? What can I do for you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I just wanna ask… that thing you did, making fun of Kiba to get everyone's attention. Uhm. How did you know that was gonna work?"

"It's just a matter of instinct." The man shrugged. "I knew Kiba was the biggest trouble maker, so by making an example of him I could get the rest to fall in line."

"Right," said Naruto, nodding along. "Only… I tried to imagine someone like Iruka-sensei doing the same, and I just can't see it working for him. Like, he always yelled and threatened to punish us a lot, but then he'd turn around and everyone would just go back to doing what they wanted. So how come it works when you do it?"

"Oh, so you want to know my secret, eh?" Naruto nodded eagerly, and the man leaned forward to whisper in his ear. "It's intent. You see, people can usually tell when you're bluffing, so the trick to get them to listen to you is simple: _Never bluff_. Always make sure that you have a backup plan, and never hesitate to carry it out if you have to."

Naruto frowned. "But, then… what would you have done if Kiba had just ignored you?"

"Ah. Well, I suppose in that case I would've had to throw Kiba out of the window." Naruto recoiled, and the man chuckled at his shocked reaction. "Oh, don't act so alarmed. Ninja are not that fragile, and even if he had gotten hurt the Inuzuka would not have made a big deal out of it – they handle their own disputes in much the same way, after all. In fact, Kiba would probably have respected me more for it.

"But, but, wouldn't that have gotten you in trouble with the other teachers? And, uhm, everybody else?"

The corners of Mizuki's lips twitched. "Oh, probably! Most likely, yes, they would have talked ill of me behind my back and tried to have me dismissed. But I've already acquired a certain reputation, and the alternative would have been a very unpleasant school year where you don't actually learn anything. I find that people are often far more troubled by a small immediate loss than long-term failure, while the opposite should be the case." Mizuki paused for a moment, as if considering something. Then, he smiled conspiratorially. "Listen, Naruto-kun. I can tell you a story to help explain what I mean, if you like, but you have to promise to keep it a secret. Can you do that for me?"

Naruto nodded. "I promise."

The man leaned back in his seat, his grey eyes glistening over in remembrance. "Many years ago, before I became a teacher, I was sent on a mission along with an old friend of mine and another Konoha Shinobi. We had to deliver very sensitive information to a certain location, and I was told that the task was of vital importance. I can't give you the details, but suffice to say that the enemy got wind of it and they ambushed us. Since our mission was to deliver the information no matter what, we decided to make a break for it. At first it seemed that we'd get away, but at the last moment a shuriken struck our new team member in the leg and he collapsed. I told my friend that we had to keep going to fulfil our mission, but he insisted on carrying him while we ran. How well do you think that worked out, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto considered this. Ninjas were very strong and fast while flaring their chakra, but it seemed unlikely that they could keep that up for very long. "Not well?"

"Not well indeed! The enemy was catching up to us, and it was becoming increasingly clear that we wouldn't be getting away with him slowing us down like that. I told my friend as much, but he yelled at me that I should take over carrying the wounded man, even though this would result in us all being captured and tortured by the enemy. So what do you think I did?"

"You convinced your friend that he didn't have a choice? You made him leave the man behind?"

Mizuki smiled again, though it no longer reached his eyes. "That's right; I convinced him the only way I knew how. I agreed to take over, then took my kunai and slit the wounded man's throat before leaving him behind. My friend had no choice but to face reality then, and we both slipped away and completed the mission safely – but even so he never forgave me for it. He told everyone in the Village what I did, and after that nobody ever really trusted me again. I saved my friend, I completed the mission, and all I had to give up for it was a man who was already dead… but even though I followed the Shinobi rules and did exactly what I was supposed to, everyone acted like it was my fault he died. As if the fact that I was the one holding the kunai made me responsible for his death, while my friend was innocent simply because he refused to accept responsibility. Afterwards, nobody trusted me on their team again, and it took me years to even get this teacher's position. Does that seem fair to you, Naruto?"

Naruto felt himself turning pale. "No… no, it doesn't."

Mizuki stared out of the window, a morose expression on his face. "There are two groups of ninja in this Village," he said at last. "The first likes to act nice and speaks of lofty ideals like the 'Will of Fire', but they never assume responsibility for the consequences of their actions. The second group has a certain quality that lets them handle the unpleasant tasks that the others don't want to be associated with – a quality known as _Darkness_ – and they do this even though they know they will always be hated for it."

Naruto followed Mizuki's gaze through the window, to see if he could perhaps find this darkness his teacher spoke of. But outside, the sun was shining as brightly as it always had, and the birds were singing with not a care in the world.


	2. Novel Ideas

**A/N** : At the time of writing, this story has 500 views, 13 favourites and 20 followers, and yet only has 5 reviews of which most are negative. If I were Eliezer Yudkowsky, I would now use this data to argue that humanity is doomed due to the inability of good and decent people to cooperate in the face of trivial inconveniences, thereby heralding in the rise of Donald Trump and the end of our species.

However, since I'm not Eliezer Yudkowsky, I'll just ask the fans of this story to leave more nice reviews :P

* * *

It was three weeks before the ninja academy graduation exams when Naruto was finally forced to admit that he was critically behind on his studies, having failed the last three preliminary tests in a row.

Naruto knew he desperately needed to study, and yet his academy scrolls obstinately refused to be read. He had tried reading them backwards or while hanging upside down, tried skipping every second sentence, even giving up entirely and walking out of the room only to quickly run back to his scroll before his brain realized it was being tricked, as well as countless other less sensible and well-thought-out measures – all to no avail. His brain would take one look at the academy mandated material, and declare that it would rather do something else thank you very much, and to hell with Naruto's own stated views on the matter.

Every time he tried to focus on the subject material, a million unrelated thoughts would pop up that all somehow seemed so much more interesting – anything to delay having to study for just a moment longer. Seeing an opportunity to use this to his advantage, Naruto had already cleaned his room (well, clean by his standards), done his morning exercises, written an essay on knitting, practiced balancing books on his head while hopping on his left foot, studied the fine art of origami, cooked a meal and then ate half of it before deciding he wasn't hungry after all and leaving the rest to stew on his desk as an impromptu biology experiment. Finally, driven by purest desperation, he had forced himself to ask for studying assistance from the one person he was certain would never refuse that particular request.

So it was that on a lazy summer afternoon the orange-clad ninja was standing on the porch of a humble but tidy looking house, with blue window blinds and a potted plant next to the door. Even then, standing on the doorstep of the building, it was still strangely difficult to take that final step and knock on the door.

Naruto ran a nervous hand through the messy blond hair on the back of his head. _This is stupid. I am a ninja – or training to be one anyway. If I'm gonna risk my life in mortal combat, I should be able to ask a girl for help!_ With those words on his mind and cursing inwardly, Naruto forced himself to knock.

"Coming!" There was a series of muffled footfalls thundering down the stairs, followed by the sound of a security chain being removed on the other side. The door swung open to reveal a bright and happy face framed by pink hair, with a forehead that was often called overlarge but which Naruto thought looked kind of cute. Sakura was wearing a red cheongsam that fell to her knees, as well as dark green shorts.

Her face fell almost immediately upon seeing him. "Oh, it's just you. For a moment there I thought you were Ino, or better yet, Sasuke." Her expression glazed over as her mind wandered wistfully for a moment before reluctantly turning back to reality. "You wanted help preparing for the academy exams, right? I suppose you might as well come in now that you're here."

"Uh, thanks."

"Wait… Hold on one moment!" No sooner had Naruto taken one step into the building or he was forced back outside by Sakura's pointed finger of accusation. "This isn't one of those stupid tricks where you're pretending to ask for help with your exams, but really you're just trying to get close to me, until one day I drop my guard and let you into my heart, is it?"

Naruto threw up his hands defensively. "No, I just wanted you to help me study, I swear!" A thought occurred to him then. "Wait, where'd you even get that idea from? Have you been reading _romance_ novels? You haven't been reading any of Jiraiya's stupid books, have you?"

"No more questions!" She grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into the entrance hall, past the kitchen of motherly shouting ("Oh are you bringing a friend how nice wait is that a boy okay well yell if you need anything!"), up the stairs and straight into the bedroom of supreme pinkness.

"My parents decorated it that way when I was a little girl," she said defensively. "Shut up."

"I didn't say anything." He had been thinking it, though. Naruto tried to be tolerant with regards to girlishness, but there were limits and they had been crossed right where the walls began. Almost everything in the room that was not pink was flowery, curly, laced, or some combination of all three.

"Sit down." She pointed towards a plain wooden chair right in the middle of the sparkly clean wooden flooring. He sat himself there as ordered, half-expecting a team of pink-clad Anbu interrogators to come into the room and stand in a circle around the chair while she questioned him.

Sakura seated herself on the bed opposite him, legs folded underneath in a meditative posture, a book having manifested in her hand. It was not hard to imagine where she got it from: Aside from girlishness, the other thing the room was filled with to the brim was scrolls and books. The shelves above her bed seemed to have been occupied by dolls and stuffed animals once, but over the years the forces of girlishness had been steadily losing ground to the invading armies of Bookmania. Now the plush animals were looking to make a desperate last stand, forced to choose between being trod underneath unyielding leather bindings or to leap to the soft linen doom promised by the bedcovers below.

"Okay! Let's start by testing what you know, so we get an idea of how much catching up we need to do." She leafed through the book at rapid speed, flipping the pages as though it were second nature to her. "First question: If the area of a right triangle is thirty and one of its angles is forty-five degrees, what are the lengths of the sides and hypotenuse of the triangle?"

"Uh, I don't think we need to practice that kinda stuff for the academy exams," he pointed out. "Wait, is that a chūnin exam question? Why are you learning chūnin-level material when we haven't even graduated the academy yet?"

Sakura stared at him in astonishment. "Naruto, the academy mandated curriculum may be _necessary_ , but it's not _sufficient_ to become a well-informed citizen with a half-decent understanding of the world he lives in. If you don't learn even basic mathematics like this, how can you expect to help teach at the Academy once you become older, or research new techniques or study the nature of chakra?"

"I don't," he said with a shrug that made his chair wobble. "I just wanna learn what I need to pass this stupid exam so I can hurry up and become a legal adult, learn all kinds of powerful techniques and combine them so that I can become an incredibly powerful ninja like the Fourth Hokage was."

She gave him a look as though he had just admitted to eating puppies. "Oh, well, _fine_. I mean, if you just want to learn how to use chakra to blow things up, don't let me stop you." She put the book away and just as quickly found a new one. She soon had her finger on a new question. "Okay, how about this one: Name three examples of Space-time ninjutsu."

"Oh, uh, lemme think." Naruto groaned inwardly. There were three things he hated in life: Tests, having to remember boring stuff, and being forced to guess what other people wanted to hear. _On second thought, maybe it's just the one thing I hate._ "Erhm… the Summoning technique, the body-flicker technique, and, uh, oh, the Fourth Hokage's flying thunder god technique." He remembered the last one because legendary ninjas were fortunately not filed under the 'boring stuff' category in his brain.

Sakura shook her head in admonishment. "Sorry Naruto, that's not quite correct. The body-flicker technique isn't teleportation, it's just high-speed movement. You're really going to have to study harder if you don't know at least that much." As an afterthought she gave him a sympathetic smile, as if to say that he shouldn't _quite_ take this tremendous personal failure as a reason to give up on life just yet.

"High-speed movement? That's ridiculous – it's clearly teleportation. The user casts a technique, disappears, and then reappears somewhere else not a second later. That's teleportation, right there."

"You're the one that's being ridiculous," Sakura said with a huff. She jabbed her finger at the passage once more. "It says right here that it's high-speed movement: Do you think you know better than the ninja who wrote this book? With _your_ failing grades?"

Naruto crossed his arms, his shyness forgotten in the heat of the much more important quest of being right about things. "Well _yeah_. It's not like elite ninja who actually go out and use those techniques wrote it. It was probably some stuffy academic who couldn't care less. Besides, if the stupid book can't even tell the difference between teleportation and high-speed movement, why should I care what it says?"

"That's circular logic," Sakura said with a raised eyebrow. "Okay, look at it this way: If the body-flicker technique is teleportation, why can't you use it to teleport through walls, hmmm?"

"Uh, well, I mean…" Naruto frowned. "Maybe it's teleportation that requires line of sight?"

"Hah! Teleportation that requires line of sight! Even though you can still do it with your eyes closed, and you can't use it to teleport into the air. How is that different from high-speed movement, exactly?"

Naruto hesitated. "Well, if it's high speed movement, where does all the energy go? I mean, if you're moving faster than sound, shouldn't there be a huge explosion when you suddenly stop or something?"

Sakura's mouth worked silently, and Naruto realized he had finally said something she had no quick answer to. She started skimming through the chapter of the book once more, then checked the back of the book, then pulled out another book and skimmed through that as well, all in less than a minute. "It doesn't say," she said finally, as if she couldn't quite believe the words coming out of her mouth. "They probably just give a simplified explanation in the academy books because they think we're not smart enough to understand how it really works. Maybe the real explanation is in one of the secret scrolls that only jōnin have access to. But my parents are only genin so I have no way to get access to one of those…"

"But my godfather is one of the legendary Sannin, and he would definitely have access," Naruto supplied with a wide grin. "So if we work together, we could find out the answer and get stronger in the process!"

"Exactly." She leaned forward eagerly. "If you could just borrow one of those scrolls from him, then I'll-"

Sakura was interrupted when the door to the room opened, and a blond woman wearing a white cheongsam appeared in the doorway. In her hands she carried a large flowery plate filled to the brim with foodstuffs. "Knock knock! I figured you two must be hungry, so I made lunch! I also got you those syrup-coated dumplings you like so much, Sakura honey, and those dried plums you always-"

Sakura rushed to the door and grabbed the plate from her mother's hand before she could come in any further, her swift and precise movements betraying the skill she had developed for managing this particular type of crisis. "Thanks mom, we're going to eat this now, bye mom!"

"Okay sweetie! I'll give the two of you some time alone together. Let me know if you need anything!" Sakura's mother looked over her shoulder with a benign smile even as she was pushed out the door by her daughter. "So is that your new boyfriend? Whatever happened to that noble Uchiha boy? This one looks kind of cute too, in a dopey sort of way…"

"Out, out!" The moment Sakura managed to shove her mother out the room she propped her back against the door, as if she were afraid her mother would come back to hound her again the moment she let down her guard. "Ugh! I swear, parents can be so annoying! Sometimes I wish I were an orphan, and I could just take care of myself and make my own decisions without-" Her hands went to her mouth as she remembered who she was talking to. "Oh no, I'm sorry Naruto, I didn't mean…"

"That's okay…" Naruto observed that his toenails needed clipping: The way his toes stuck out of his ninja sandals left their hooked and jagged edges clearly visible. "So, uh… What about the exam preparation?"

"…right. Right! Exams," she said with visible relief. A second later, her eyes widened in realization, and she was panicking again. "That's right; I haven't even been able to help you answer any questions yet!" She immediately set to work plucking out a series of books from her shelves, seizing them with deft fingers and setting them apart for later use. "We still need to identify the key areas of improvement, make a time schedule, prepare a list of training exercises, practice doing mock exams, and… and…"

Naruto watched the pink-haired kunoichi work in silent wonder, as he sat on his pink-cushioned chair in the middle of the pink-coloured room. The two of them ended up practicing until late in the evening, and did far more work and much harder assignments than Naruto thought was necessary, but he did not terribly mind. Somehow, Sakura's excitement as they worked made all the difference in the world, and as he suffered through the practice questions he could not quite hide the foolish smile on his face.

* * *

It was well past midnight by the time the legendary ninja arrived at his destination.

The old dilapidated structure rose up before him like a man-made mountain, its grey stone and peeling paint coloured black and blue in the pale starlight. The surrounding Village was patrolled by ninja at all hours, and in the distance the barking of dogs could be heard as a patrol made its rounds across the streets, but those were of no concern to him: The hard part of remaining undetected was only beginning.

The front door would be too obvious and too noticeable even at this late hour, but there were other means of entry available to a ninja worthy of the name. Running up the façade of the building as only a shinobi could, he swiftly arrived at the second floor window. Once there he easily pried the lock open with a kunai, before slipping inside in perfect silence. There were only scant steps to go before he reached his target, and then this would all be over.

It was on the fifth step that he made a crucial mistake: With too much weight placed on his left foot, the floorboard creaked beneath him, and his heart missed a beat. It was an error that he would never have made if not for the drugs coursing through his system – or so he told himself. After all these years, could it be that he had finally grown old? He waited an unbearably long moment, but the sound died away with no response. It seemed he had been lucky – but a ninja who relied on luck was a ninja who wagered with the god of Death, he reminded himself. He took the last steps soundlessly, and as he finally entered the bedroom, he closed the door behind him with an inward sigh of relief.

"Aha! There you are, Jiraiya!"

Jiraiya's heart leaped as a five-foot ninja clad in night-blue sleepwear dropped down from the ceiling and landed right in front of him, one arm outstretched in pointed accusation.

"Naruto? What're you doing in my bedroom? You're supposed t' be asleep!"

"I'm supposed to-?" His godson floundered with indignation. "You're the one who said you were gonna teach me a new technique today! Not gallivanting around all night doing… whatever it is you do all night." The boy frowned as he considered the issue.

"Ah… I was doing important ninja business! It was, uh, a top secret special S-ranked mission. I would've told you all about it if I were allowed to." Jiraiya decided a quick change of subject was in order. "Hey, where'd ya learn a word like 'gallivanting', anyway?"

"It was in one of those stupid books you're always writing." Naruto stepped towards the nearest bookshelf and took out _Adventures of a Gallant Ninja: The mysterious Kunoichi of Roichi Cave_ , part XV of Jiraiya's famous Make-Out Tactics series. "See, it's right here," Naruto said, as he flipped through the book and reached the relevant section. _"The legendary gallivanting ninja strode into the smoky, dimly-lit room, his breath and his audacious actions reeking of alcohol both. 'No more games,' he growled in the same rough voice that had stolen the hearts of half the kunoichi in the Land of Fire. In reply, her thick ample bosom pressed up against him, warm and inviting. "Oh, but I do so like to play," she said huskily, as her hand reached down and gripped his -"_

"Gimme that!" Jiraiya snatched the book from the boy's hands in a lightning-swift movement. "You're far too young t' be reading that sorta thing – though now that you _did_ read it, I suppose you might as well tell me about it." He flashed a wide grin. "So what'd ya think? Pretty good, no?"

Naruto made a face. "I don't get why you even write them: You're already a _real_ ninja, so why write about being one? And it's all just a buncha weird _stuff_. Like, it's supposed to be about ninja, but all the main character ever does is hang around in bars all night and…" He trailed off. "Wait a second…"

"Like I said, far too young!" Jiraiya hastily put the book back where Naruto found it, before giving his godson's hair an affectionate ruffle. "Stick with the ninja stories I gave you for now, kiddo. Tomorrow I'll teach you an incredible new technique, I promise. Now let's both go and hit the sack."

He watched as his godson sulkily went back to bed, and then headed for his own bed. It would not be much longer now, before he would have to tell the boy – of the events that had made him who he was, of his parents and his past, of burning daemons that consumed all life and enemies that hid in darkness…

He shook his head, and went to sleep.

 _I'll let him stay a child, for just a little longer…_


	3. Natural Law

**A/N** : I have decided to make this an interactive story. From now on, every time humanity does not destroy the world, I will post a new chapter. Otherwise, you'll get a much shorter and sadder ending.

* * *

Naruto awoke to the smell of fried eggs and sizzling bacon invading his nostrils. It was a good sign for the day to come, in more ways than one, and so it was with high spirits that he made his way down the stairs, easily stepping around the bits of trash that littered every square inch of their apartment. He was still in his nightwear and rubbing the sleep from his eyes when he stepped into the half-kitchen. He found his godfather standing there, cheerfully experimenting with how many times he could flip an egg around in the air before catching it with his frying pan. It would have been a surreal sight indeed, to anyone who was not intimately familiar with the many oddities of the legendary ninja.

"Mornin' kiddo! Take a seat, breakfast is almost done. Tea's on the table."

As Naruto sat down, he took one look at the dining table and immediately knew something was off. The chopsticks were neatly arranged, not scattered around haphazardly as they usually were, the green tea was being kept warm with an actual tea warmer, and above all Jiraiya was making breakfast instead of sleeping in after coming home late the previous day.

"You're leaving again," Naruto said.

The egg made two more flips in the air before landing in the frying pan with a small spray of cooked fat. "I got a note this morning," his godfather said without turning around. "There was a mission…"

"Nevermind," Naruto looked away, staring into his plate. "It doesn't matter. Whether it's a mission or your books or whatever it is you do all night, the end result's still the same." _The same as it's always been, and the same it'll ever be._ The downward spiral of his thoughts was interrupted by a fried egg flying onto his plate with perfect accuracy, causing him to jump slightly in surprise.

"Now look here, kiddo," Jiraiya said, as he tossed his own egg onto his plate and planted himself onto the seat opposite Naruto. "I made you a promise, and the Gallant Jiraiya never goes back on his word! I'll teach you that technique, just… not right now. Gimme a few days, and I'll sort things out with the Hokage, all right?"

"Yeah, sure…" Naruto poked around in his breakfast and took a bite, distractedly. The eggs were delicious, which was unfair, because Naruto felt sure they ought to taste like ash. "You know… you never told me who my parents were, but I get that it might be dangerous or whatever, so that's fine. I tell everyone that I'm the cousin of the First Hokage's wife Uzumaki Mito, twice removed, and that's why you're taking care of me. It's just… whoever they were, you musta cared about them at least a little bit, to spend time on me when you'd clearly rather do something else. So you'd think that if the character from your books always keeps his promises, you'd take raising me to become a ninja more seriously as well."

For a while only the clicker-clacker of chopsticks could be heard as the two ate their eggs in silence. Then Jiraiya stood up abruptly, the legs of his chair scraping along the wooden floor. He swept towards the hallway, his red coat and white hair trailing behind him. A second later the sound of moving furniture and items being thrown about could be heard coming from Jiraiya's room. Naruto was still eating his eggs when Jiraiya strode back into the half-kitchen, carrying a massive one-meter long scroll under his arm. He slammed it onto the floor in front of Naruto.

"This is the scroll of seals," he announced theatrically. "I borrowed it from the Hokage, but I figure you'll make better use of it than me. It contains all of the Village's jutsu, with descriptions and illustrations and everything, so it'll probably do a better job of teaching you than I ever could. Just try not to damage it or lose it or something, or I'm gonna have to come up with a really good excuse to tell the Third."

Naruto had to flare his chakra just to pick up the massive object, and even then he almost buckled under its weight. The parchment alone must have weighed a ton.

"It uh, says 'forbidden' right here on the top in giant letters," Naruto remarked cautiously.

"Yeah, but forbidden means something more like 'discouraged' in the language of the Konoha Council," Jiraiya said, making a 'so-so' gesture with his hands. "Thing is, that scroll is full of dangerous techniques that'll kill ya, sure, but _not_ knowing dangerous techniques is like to kill you much faster. The only thing that's really forbidden is teaching those techniques to others without permission, 'cause you never know in whose hands they might end up. Anyway, I marked the ones in the scroll that are least likely to blow up in yer face, so as long as you stick to those it's probably perfectly fine."

"Uh, okay," he said. "Wow. Thanks, dad." Naruto stared at the giant scroll in total awe. It was not what he wanted, not really, but it was _something_.

"No problem, kiddo. Okay, it's getting late, I gotta go. Take care of yourself now, you hear me?" As the giant of a man hurried out the door, Naruto started to unfurl the ancient scroll onto the floor, pushing stray bits of egg out of the way as he did so. Skimming through the start, he quickly saw a technique that intrigued him, and he began forming the required hand seals experimentally.

 _The Reaper Death Seal, also known as the Dead Daemon seal: Created by Uzumaki Mito specifically to contain the Nine-tailed Daemon Fox, forming the following hand signs allows the user to release-_

Jiraiya strode back into the room, cut out the page with a knife and stuffed it in his pocket in one swift motion. "Whoops, not that one."

* * *

It was three weeks before the Academy Exams when Naruto finally found the time to follow up on his agreement with Sakura. Despite Naruto's protestations, Sakura had insisted that he catch up on the exam material before attempting to make history by uncovering the fundamental workings of ninjutsu, and she had proven entirely insusceptible to his argument that becoming internationally famous for their research would probably get them a free pass. Naruto made his way to their meeting point humming as he went – excited for possibly the first time in his life at the prospect of spending the day in the library.

The Konoha public library was a massive building with white marble pillars and wide open doors. It was not entirely clear to Naruto _why_ it was so massive however, as most ninjas avoided its dusty book-lined corridors like they avoided death by chakra exhaustion. After a brief search under the watchful eyes of the library staff, he found his partner in a quiet corner of the library, sitting cross-legged on a cushion in the middle of the floor, surrounded by a semi-circle of neatly-piled books and scrolls like a makeshift fort.

"Hey, Sakura-chan!" he called out as he approached her. She immediately motioned for him to quiet down, which Naruto thought was unfair, given that he had already lowered his volume to one-tenth his usual level. "We can figure out how the body-flicker technique really works," he continued excitedly, as he planted the giant scroll at Sakura's feet. "See, Jiraiya gave me this scroll that describes all the ninjutsu in the Village, so now we can research the technique and set up tests and… what?"

"There's no point, Naruto." She shook her head despondently. "I only realized it once the excitement wore off, but the body-flicker technique is one of the most basic academy techniques, taught to anyone who wants to become a genin. There's no point in testing something that's already been done a million times before, because we already know exactly how it works: The user casts the technique using hand signs and chakra, and it speeds up his movements so that he can cross a short distance in the time it takes to blink. That's all there is to it."

Naruto looked at her blankly. "But… that doesn't explain anything at all! You're just describing _how_ it works, not _why_ it works that way. We still don't know if it's a space-time technique or not."

"There's no difference between asking how something works and why it works," she explained tiredly. There were bags under her eyes that she had not quite managed to cover up, the product of her researching advanced material and preparing for the exams at the same time. "If you know _how_ every piece of a clock functions, you also know _why_ it works, and if that doesn't feel intuitive that's only because we're used to looking at things in terms of what use they have for us. You can argue all day whether the body-flicker technique should be called a space-time technique or not, but that's just how we describe it. It doesn't affect the way things are."

"But, but… then what about the substitution technique?" he tried. "I mean, it lets you instantly swap places with something. That _has_ to be teleportation, right?"

She shook her head again. "I read up on the existing research done by brilliant ninjas like Tsunade of the Sannin and the Second Hokage. One of the things they discovered was that the more elements you add to an explanation, the less likely it is to be true, because you have to multiply the chances together and they're all less than one." She reached into a pile besides her and extended the relevant scroll to Naruto. "When you look at it, the substitution-technique does the exact same thing as the body-flicker technique, except that it also moves a similarly-sized object to your position at the same time. So even without looking it up I can guess that the substitution technique just casts the body flicker technique twice, once for you and once for an object that you coated with your chakra. Then it leaves an afterimage of your body behind in the same way as the transformation technique. There's no mystery to it."

Naruto frowned as he accepted the scroll, staring at it as though it were singularly responsible for all his problems in life. Even without opening it, he somehow knew that it would confirm precisely what Sakura had just told him. "But that can't be true for everything," he protested. "There's tons of ninja techniques that are really complicated, and I don't think there's a simple explanation for any of it. Like, the most powerful water technique looks like a Dragon made of water. Why a dragon? And why are the five basic elements things like fire, or air, or lightning? Why not iron or something? It makes no sense!"

She hesitated. "Maybe it's because of the mental component to techniques, like how you need to imagine what you want to look like when casting the transformation technique, and we think of dragons as being really strong so the most powerful techniques end up looking like that?" She raised her hands to ward off Naruto's objections. "I don't know, I'm only guessing! But I do know that you don't explain something by making it even more complicated. Like, we know vision works by light reflecting of things before reaching our eyes, so physical illusions like the transformation or clone technique must work by reflecting light as well. That's what's meant by the word 'law': You just describe in the shortest possible way how the universe already seems to behave. You don't add anything on top."

"Oh…" Naruto slowly felt himself deflating. He had woken up with such high hopes for the day: They were going to do research and discover the true nature of ninjutsu and they would become amazingly powerful and famous and everyone would respect them for it… but somehow things never seemed to work out the way they were supposed to. "Hold on," he said. "How does chakra work, anyway? Could we do the same thing as with light, and come up with rules to describe how chakra behaves?"

"Hmm, maybe… Hold on, I've read about this." She got onto her knees and started searching through her pile. Her hand drifted over a particularly mouldy series of scrolls, and then lashed out like a striking serpent. "Here we go… shortly after founding Konoha's academy, Senju Tobirama proposed three universal laws of chakra. The first law, on the conservation of chakra, states that chakra can neither be created nor destroyed, only transformed into energy of a different nature. The Second law says that chakra can only affect something if it's in physical contact with it. The Third Law states that no Chakra of two different Natures may occupy the same location within Space and Time." She frowned. "The rest is just basic academy material: You create chakra within your body by combining physical and mental energy, all living creatures have at least some chakra and you die if you ever run out, and so on… but it doesn't say _how_ they know this, or what any of it _means_."

Naruto rubbed his hands, grinning widely. "Well, there's only one thing to it! We're just gonna have to do our own research and find out for ourselves. And it just so happens I got a scroll from Jiraiya that describes all the ninjutsu in the village, and he's been teaching me a technique that I think could tell us a lot about chakra if we can just figure out how it works..." He made to form the seals for the technique, but stopped when Sakura grasped his arm.

"You can't do your research in _here_ ," she said, scandalized. "This is a library!"

* * *

"It's time for sparring practice! Everyone, please team up and find yourself a partner."

Only two weeks to go before the final academy exams, and it was the first time Mizuki-sensei told them to just start practising without any further specifications, though unlike Iruka-sensei he at least did not need to read from a scroll to do it. Naruto furtively looked around the training ground, fearing a repeat of the last time this happened, when Uchiha Sasuke humiliated him in front of everybody. It would be so much more efficient if he could just spend his time on researching Chakra, or practicing the Shadow Clone technique, instead of learning to _punch people_ …

He had read through the other techniques in the scroll as well, to see if his time might be better spent learning something else, but the Shadow Clone technique was just _so good_. It created a perfect copy of you – not just a convincing illusion, but an actual second body that was just as bright as you – as well as copying anything you carried that was coated with your chakra. Sure, they disappeared when either they or the caster so much as scratched their noses, but when that happened all their unspent chakra was redistributed to the original and the rest along with their memories, and Naruto had enough chakra that even the steep casting cost and chakra drain presented no great problem. You could use them to scout, or to cast techniques, or create distractions or read books or cook food or clean your room or…

 _No, focus! I gotta find a partner: Sakura is with Sasuke, Kiba is with Shino, I can't see Ino anywhere…_

"Naruto-kun." Naruto turned around to find Mizuki-sensei standing behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder and smiling congenially. "I believe Hinata-sama does not yet have a partner, and I think you two would be a good match. Why don't you go and spar with her?"

Naruto almost asked who he was talking about, but then he remembered that he did in fact have a person in his class with that name, though the black-haired pale-skinned Hyūga girl had a habit of vanishing into the background. He found his designated partner at the very edge of the training ground, in front of a line of trees bearing wooden targets at the furthest possible distance from the rest of the class – as though it were her intention to be forgotten.

He could not help but stare at her. She was throwing shuriken with the most awkward form Naruto had ever seen: She would shift her feet, look at them intently as if trying to get their positions just right, carefully tilt her throwing arm back, and then finally launch the shuriken in absolutely any direction other than the intended target. Every time she missed she would bite her lip and glance around furtively, as if to check whether anyone saw her fail. Then she would try again, each time more hesitantly than the last.

Despite her constant glancing around, somehow she still managed to miss Naruto sauntering up to her, and she let out a small surprised yelp when he greeted her. "Hey, Hinata-chan. Whatcha doing?"

"N…Naruto-kun. I'm practicing my s-shurikenjutsu. I'm afraid I'm not very good at it…" She stared at her feet in a way that made Naruto feel like she was waiting for him to confirm or deny it. Naruto did not want to be mean, but at the same time he couldn't honestly claim she was doing well.

"You, uh… you know we're not doing shuriken practice, right?" he said instead. "Mizuki-sensei told us to spar together."

"Oh… d-did he really? I p-prefer throwing shuriken, though… I think maybe, maybe it would be better if I kept doing this instead." She ducked her head as she said it, as if contradicting a teacher was an unforgivable sin even if he was not there to hear it. Naruto was aghast. If her taijutsu was _worse_ than her shuriken jutsu, then… his mind drew a blank. He could not imagine what that would even _look_ like.

"Hey, you're from that elite Hyūga clan, right?" he said cheeringly. "Don't you guys all have this amazing bloodline that gives you perfect telescopic vision in all directions? I bet if you use your eye-technique you'll be able to hit the target for sure!" But instead of cheering up as he had hoped, she only shrank back further. "Or… not? Yeah, maybe using the Byakugan would be unfair to the others; good thinking Hinata-chan. I mean, if the others were doing Shuriken practice and not… sparring," he finished lamely.

It was quiet for a moment, only the constant din of the other students' distant kicks and punches filling the silence as Naruto waited for his partner to muster the courage to speak.

"…Hyūga Hiashi-sama says that… that his heir shouldn't need the Byakugan to hit a target," she whispered at last. "He says that if… if I'm going to f-fail regardless, I shouldn't s-sully the Hyūga name by using the Byakugan to do it…"

Naruto opened his mouth to reply, closed it, and then opened it again when the implications of the words 'Hinata-sama' and 'heir' finally dawned on him. "You're lord Hiashi's daughter?" She nodded almost imperceptibly. "Oh, wow. I, uh, I think I kinda dragged mud all over your dad's face a while back. Well, I mean it was his statue, but now that you've said that I'm kinda wishing it had really been him instead."

A small 'eep'soundescaped from her lips, but it was hard to tell if it was supressed mirth or embarrassment. Either way she was blushing furiously.

"Well, okay then," he said after a while. "If that jerk's gonna be like that, we're just gonna have to show him, right Hinata-chan? Uh, Hinata-sama… chan?" She blinked. "Uhm, what I mean to say is, we'll just have to train until you're the best shuriken thrower that's ever been! Then your dad will have no choice but to acknowledge you…" he trailed off when he saw her pained expression, and he felt a strange sense of familiarity at the sight. "Or maybe you've been trying to do that your whole life and you only seem to be getting worse?" She shrank back further than Naruto would have thought possible. "And I guess, everybody else keeps telling you that you can succeed if you just try hard enough, and you don't want to disappoint them so you say you'll do your best…" A tiny, mewling sound escaped from her lips. "Ah…"

It was a strange experience, but also somehow vaguely reassuring, to meet someone who had it worse than him. _So what do I do? All ordinary attempts to help her failed, and all the best tutors in the Hyūga clan only ever made it worse, which means I gotta be clever about this…_ He turned to the wooden shuriken target, which really seemed like it should have been struck at least once through sheer chance alone. Then he looked at her feet, the position of which she had paid such painstaking attention to just moments ago. "Okay then," he said at last. "Throw a shuriken."

She looked at him in confusion, but did as she was bid. Her posture was just as rigid as it had been the last time, and the projectile went wide off the mark. She looked at him and flinched, as though expecting him to berate her. "Keep going," he said. "But throw them faster." She threw another, missing once more.

"Again! Faster, faster!" Her form slipped, and then started to disappear entirely as she ratcheted up the pace. "Now switch targets! Hit that one! Miss on purpose! Aim to the left! Now turn around!" She nearly fell over in her haste to comply. "There's an enemy hiding in the bushes, take him out! Now scare that squirrel! Badger that bush! Close your eyes and throw blindly! Now turn around again! That target hates ramen, kill it! That one insulted your mother, teach it a lesson! Now-"

The shuriken struck the target dead in the centre with a loud *crack*, splinters flying in every direction. A horizontal crack appeared along the wood and the bottom half fell off entirely, hitting the soil with a muted thud.

"Yes! I knew it, I knew it!" Naruto danced around triumphantly, punching the air with whoops and cheers. "I knew there was nothing wrong with your aim, but you're too insecure and it was making you focus on your form too much, and I knew you musta been told a thousand times that you should act more natural but that only made you _more_ fixated on your stance, but I figured if I could just distract you until you forgot all about it your instincts would take over and…" he trailed off as he looked at Hinata. Her right arm was still outstretched and trembling, her whole body was quavering and there were tears falling from her unblinking white eyes, the veins around them pulsing and throbbing with chakra.

"…Hinata-chan? Are you…?"

She dashed off, sprinting away at a speed faster than he would have thought possible, disappearing into the distance before he could say another word.

"I didn't… I didn't mean to – what did I do?"

 _Why can't things ever go the way they're supposed to?_

There was a polite cough behind him. "I'm afraid Hinata-sama's mother died from her illness a few years ago. I believe the two of them were quite close… it can't have been easy for her, growing up in that household with only her lord father and his servants to raise her."

Naruto turned around, and found a white-haired man standing there. "Mizuki-sensei." There was an anger bubbling up inside his stomach, reaching high enough to burn his throat like bile. "Why… why does Hinata have to be here? She shouldn't even be a ninja!" He hadn't been able to bring himself to say it to her, it would have sounded too mean and cruel and callous, but that did not make it any less _true_. "Even if I haven't talked to her much, it's obvious just from looking at her that she doesn't have any killing intent at all! She doesn't _want_ to fight or throw shuriken or learn to kill people... so why, why on earth is she even here in the first place?"

"Because she is the Hyūga heiress." Mizuki smiled apologetically, as if to say that he did not quite agree with it, either. "Though based on the rumours going around, it seems like her younger sister might replace her for that position, regardless. I'm afraid one simply cannot be the heir to Konoha's greatest remaining clan without also being a great ninja in one's own right. The clan would never accept it."

"But that's wrong," said Naruto, and though he had never truly thought about it, he knew the words were true even as they poured forth. "That's so _wrong_. There are millions of people in the Land of Fire: There must be tons of them who want to be a ninja, and Hinata-chan would much rather do something else. So why can't they just switch places? And why does a leader have to be a powerful ninja, anyway? When was the last time someone like lord Hiashi ever fought anybody? It doesn't make any sense!"

"My, those are some very precocious ideas you have there, Naruto-kun – you'd best make sure the Anbu don't overhear you, or they'll make you Hokage and force you to fix all the Village's problems overnight." Mizuki's grey eyes twinkled with mirth, and Naruto felt his anger flare, but his teacher shushed him before he could object. "I'm not saying you're wrong, Naruto-kun, just that I'm afraid there's little you can do about it. The fact of the matter is that power has always run in families: Even if you're lucky enough to be entered into the academy, most ninja never gain access to any of the truly powerful techniques. Without that secret knowledge it is essentially impossible to rise over the rank of chūnin, who are little more than expendable foot soldiers in the eyes of the Village Council… while those with powerful connections such as Hinata-sama are born into positions of influence whether they want it or not."

Mizuki's voice had taken on a morose tone as he spoke, the same as when he had told Naruto about the events that had left him a pariah with no hope of ever being promoted, and Naruto felt a flash of guilt stab through his heart. Here he was, complaining bitterly about the unfairness of the world when just this morning he had been given an entire scroll filled with _forbidden techniques_ by _Jiraiya of the Sannin,_ just because he happened to be his adopted son.

A realization occurred to him, then. _The scroll!_ He could… and why should he not? Jiraiya had left him to his own devices, while Sakura thought that studying for the exams was more important, and Mizuki _was_ his teacher after all. He told the man of all that had happened – of his plans with Sakura to discover the true nature of chakra, of the scroll and his own ambitions to become a great ninja like the Fourth Hokage. As the words poured forth his frustration edged its way into his voice, and he found himself talking freely about Iruka-sensei, of Sasuke and Sakura and even Jiraiya until he stopped himself at last, having said much more than he intended. "Anyway, if you help me out I'll ask my dad to let you learn a technique from the scroll as well," he finished hastily, since that was the deal he had originally meant to offer him.

His teacher listened to this all with attentive silence, his eyes having widened in surprise and then with increasing interest, perhaps even eagerness. "Of course I'll be happy to help you, Naruto-kun," he said carefully. "But if those techniques are so secret I think we should find a more private place to do it, without prying eyes… how about the abandoned forest cabin, at the edge of the village boundaries?"

Naruto nodded eagerly. "I don't have the scroll with me right now though," he pointed out. "And I still gotta practice for the exams first. Could we do it at the start of next week, in the evening?"

Mizuki smiled warmly at him. "That will do just fine."


	4. Actions and Intentions

**A/N** : I have been informed that this site does not allow for interactive stories. In order to appease our fanfiction overlords, and bearing in mind Newton's Third Law which states there is no such thing as action without interaction, I shall post the next update only in the ethereal realm.

* * *

It was the final week before the academy exams, and Naruto still could not study. He had been staring at the same page from the same book for the last three hours, and tried to read the same basic sentence a hundred times, but the words just danced in front of his eyes, eluding any semblance of meaning. It had been a mistake to think that he could study first and then research techniques with Mizuki-sensei after, but he had thought that he was being _responsible_ by getting the unpleasant task out of the way first – as though making his own life more difficult was somehow virtuous. It was starting to look like he would have to call off their meeting to focus on his studies, but the thought that he would then end up doing neither made him even more stubbornly determined to go through with their plans regardless.

It was right when he read the same sentence for the one-hundredth-and-first time, and finally realized that the book he had been trying to read was not his study book at all, but rather "Make-out Paradise XVII: Return of the ninja queen", that he decided enough was enough. He threw the book against the nearest wall with a satisfying * _thump_ * and stomped down the stairs, nearly tripping over a discarded shirt in the process. It was the environment that was the problem, he decided, as he left the empty apartment behind him. If he could just study with someone else, maybe their studiousness would rub off on him. But when he arrived at his destination, it was Sakura's mother who answered the door.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that Sakura is entirely engrossed in her studies," the woman in white told him. "She couldn't possibly handle any distractions this close to the exams – _especially_ not from boys. You'll just have to study with someone else. Best of luck though!"

"Yeah… thanks," said Naruto, as the door closed shut in front of him.

Who else could he try? Kiba? He somehow doubted that the feral ninja was a better study than he was. Sasuke? He would rather die. He had tried to create a shadow clone to help him study, but that only let him accomplish nothing at twice the usual rate, and he did not know any of the other students well enough to impose on them. It was not as if any of them particularly liked him, anyway.

He found himself sauntering in the direction of the training grounds, where newly graduated genin often came to practice their ninja techniques. He had his book with him, and he thought that perhaps if he found a quiet place in the forest he could still get some studying done before it was time to meet with Mizuki-sensei. It was on his way there that he encountered a boy with a black bowl-cut dressed entirely in green, tight-fitting clothes, making what appeared to be a lap around the village on his hands while kicking the air with his legs and shouting at the same time.

"Hut! Hut! Heeya! Please excuse me, green beast coming through!"

Naruto looked at the genin with horrified amazement. "What… what're you doing?"

"Training!" The older boy flipped around vertically and landed on the balls of his feet, ready for action. "I am a ninja who is unable to use either ninjutsu or genjutsu, but my teacher says that I can still be an excellent shinobi if I just focus all of my effort on practicing my taijutsu. That is why I have vowed to walk around the Village on my hands every day while kicking the air at the same time!"

"But… that's insane," said Naruto, who felt that he was considerably understating the matter. "It doesn't matter how much you practice walking on your hands, that's not gonna let you beat someone who can shape reality with his thoughts. It's completely pointless!"

The genin gave him a serious look, his thick eyebrows making him look strangely earnest. "Perhaps. But I see no reason not to try my hardest. And even if it were pointless, I still would not go back on my vow. That is not my ninja way."

Naruto blinked. "But… why not?"

"Because if I stopped doing something merely because I realized there was no reason to do it, then I could never trust myself to do anything ever again," he said gravely. Then he excused himself, and went back to doing his laps around the village, kicking and screaming all the way.

Naruto kept watching the boy in green as he slowly disappeared from sight, feeling a strange sense of misplaced jealousy. Either that genin was crazy or Naruto was, and he was having trouble deciding which.

He continued onwards, and found himself a quiet tree stump to sit on and read. Yet no matter how much he tried to focus, his thoughts kept going back to his upcoming meeting with Mizuki. After an hour of futile attempts at making himself study, he decided he might as well head for the abandoned cottage a little early. Right as he got up he remembered that he did not actually have the scroll with him, and he mentally cursed himself as he dashed back to his apartment – and promptly ran right into someone else.

"Ow! Hey, sorry, I gotta – Hinata-chan? What're you doing here?"

"N-Naruto-kun," the pale girl squeaked, staring at her feet as though searching for something she had dropped. "I wanted… I wanted to apologize for, for running away and being rude to you earlier, and, and then I heard you were looking to study with someone, so I thought… I thought…"

Naruto blinked. "You heard..? But I only talked with Sakura's mom, and that was just an hour ago…"

She turned beet red, but said nothing. At last Naruto could afford to wait no longer. "Sorry, Hinata-chan, but I gotta go. I got an appointment."

"I-I understand… I'm sorry!" She rushed off through the training area, in the exact opposite direction of where the Hyūga compound was, and Naruto stood there for a moment, flabbergasted. A part of his mind was yelling at him to go after her, and another part of him was yelling that there was no time, until finally the part of him that was _not completely useless_ reminded him that he already had the perfect solution to this particular type of problem.

The easy part was forming the hand seals, but then he had to split his stream of thought into two, which was said to be almost impossible for most ninja but turned out to be merely incredibly difficult for him. He felt the chakra drain from his veins as the technique took hold, and then the world shifted and he was staring at a boy his own height with bright blue eyes, messy coarse blond hair and orange clothing. He had already cast the technique several times before, but the result still filled him with absolute wonder.

"Well, what're you waiting for?" he growled, after he grew tired of admiring himself. "Go after her!"

The other Naruto hesitated for a moment, a confused expression on his face, before running off in the same direction Hinata had headed. _Which leaves the bigger problem to me, as always._ He dashed back the way he came.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid…_

Naruto ran all the way back to his apartment, found the scroll, and only then remembered that it was too large for him to carry. Panicking, he looked around for some easy way of transport, but at last he decided there was no time and he just slung it on his back with a belt. He buckled under its weight as though it were a leaden bell, and it nearly slipped out and fell on several occasions as he ran, but somehow he managed.

 _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

By the time he arrived at his destination he was aching all over and drenched in sweat. From the position of the sun he realized that despite everything he had still managed to arrive early, but the novelty of calling himself stupid had worn off at this point. _I'll just wait for Mizuki-sensei in the cottage,_ he thought to himself, and that was when someone grabbed him and pulled him into the bushes.

"Ack! Hey, what?" He suddenly found himself looking up at a man in a green armoured jacket, who would have looked like a perfectly ordinary chūnin except for the horizontal scar across his face. "Iruka-sensei? What're you doing here? Did Mizuki-sensei ask you to join in on our chakra-research or something?"

"Naruto?" His former teacher looked as surprised as he was. He slowly put his knife aside, which Naruto only now realized had been pointed at his throat. "Is that what Mizuki told you? Listen, I don't know what lies he's been putting in your head, but Mizuki is a very dangerous man. The Hokage ordered me to keep an eye on him in case he turns traitor, so I followed him here, but I need you to tell me what he's up to before I can-"

"Traitor?" Naruto was having trouble focusing, occupied as he was with disentangling himself from the dense undergrowth without cutting himself on any of the branches. "What're you talking about? Mizuki-sensei isn't a traitor, he's my teacher. He stepped in after you left because of me, in case you forgot."

Iruka grimaced. "I didn't choose to leave my position, no matter what you may've been told. I loved teaching you – every last one of you, no matter how difficult it was sometimes – and maybe I was a little tense before the exams, but I never meant to take it out on any of you." A regretful look passed over his face, but it vanished when he shook his head. "No, Mizuki pulled some strings to make that happen, I'm sure of it. He's planning something, but I can't do anything about it until I figure out what it is."

Naruto finally managed to return to an upright position, and his wits returned to him along with his sense of direction. "Wait… if the Hokage suspects Mizuki-sensei of something, why would he send you? Where's the Anbu? What's really going on here?" Iruka opened his mouth to reply, but when no sound came out, Naruto's suspicions redoubled. "You're not here on the Hokage's orders at all, are you? You're just jealous that Mizuki-sensei got your teacher's position and he's doing a better job than you, so you've been trying to catch him doing something wrong!"

"That's not true!" Iruka anxiously peered through the bushes to look for movement at the cottage door, before lowering his voice to a whisper. "You don't understand; you don't know Mizuki like I do. He was my friend growing up, but then as he grew older something _changed_ him. He became colder and more distant: He started mocking the Will of Fire, and then… he was never convicted of it, but a few years ago he was on a mission, and he killed one of his own comrades just so he could run away a little faster. That's the kind of person he has become."

"I know," said Naruto, "He told me." Then another realization struck him. "Wait. His friend, the one who told everybody what happened, who convinced everyone he was a terrible person – that was you, wasn't it? You ruined his life!" _Just like you ruined mine, by saying that I dishonoured the Fourth Hokage, and by letting Sasuke humiliate me._ "And then, and then you followed him into the academy, just to _spite_ him…"

Iruka stared at him, uncomprehending. "He _told_ you? And you're still choosing his side?"

"Of course; he's a clever lad." Iruka dodged almost instantly, but the shuriken had been thrown even before the words were spoken and he was struck regardless. Red rivulets ran down the forest green of his jacket where the shuriken pierced him, and he grunted in pain. Mizuki was standing a few meters away, covered in dirt from where he had burst out of the ground with an earth technique. "Naruto, why don't you get your head down for a bit? This won't take long."

Naruto ducked down the bushes even before Mizuki finished speaking, instinct taking over, and then he could only tell what was going on by the sounds of violence. Metal clashed on metal, someone screamed a word, and then there was a sickening _crunch_ followed by a hollow _thump_. When Naruto got up, Iruka was lying face-first on the forest floor, a large shuriken embedded in what looked to be his spine, only his right hand twitching slightly as he lay in a steadily spreading puddle of his own blood.

"You… you _killed_ him," said Naruto, who felt like he was going to be sick.

"Yes, that does tend to happen when you play around with shuriken," Mizuki said idly, as he picked up the stray weapons from the forest floor. He frowned as he cleaned the blood of one of them with a large leaf. "Though, you don't learn that at the academy anymore, do you? I apologize for that… if I were actually allowed to teach you children something, then I would have given you all a kitten to care for at the start of the year, and made you strangle it for graduation. Perhaps then you would have come to realize that the life of a ninja is not supposed to be _fun_. But alas."

"But, but he was your friend!" Naruto's thoughts were like mud. If he killed Iruka, then that implied… "Does this mean – was what he said true, about the Hokage suspecting you of being a traitor?"

"Who knows?" Mizuki tried to brush some of the dirt out of his white hair, but only ended up smearing it with blood, to his visible annoyance. "For all I know the Hokage says that to almost everyone: That way they're all watching each other for him, and they all get to feel special. Quite clever if you ask me." He sighed. "And Iruka was _not_ my friend; that's just something he chose to believe to make himself feel better about harassing me. But, I suppose even a stopped clock is right twice a day, and this time he happened to get in the way of my taking that scroll from you. Unfortunately for him."

And there it was: If Mizuki planned to leave the Village then it made sense that he did not want to leave empty-handed… but as a rogue ninja he would most likely get caught almost immediately, unless he planned to join a different Village, in which case it would help his position immensely if he brought them a handsome gift. It amounted to the same thing either way.

Naruto reached around his back and clutched the massive scroll tightly. "And, if I gave this to you... Then, what'd happen to _me_?

"Oh, well. Obviously it would be in my best interest to eliminate any witnesses." Mizuki smiled, seeming to find Naruto's dismay amusing. "Unless, of course, you can think of a reason for me not to?"

It took several long seconds of agonizing silence for Naruto to think of an answer. "My dad's Jiraiya, of the legendary Sannin… if you kill me, he'll definitely go after you, but if you don't, I'll ask him not to."

Another smile. "And there you have it. You see, Naruto, you have nothing to fear from smart and reasonable people like me, because we can always come to some sort of agreement. We're practically allies by default." A small and pitiful groan came from where Iruka lay, and the two of them looked around in surprise. "…but of course, the same does not apply to _him_. People like that, who imagine themselves to be virtuous and with good intentions, are capable of convincing themselves of absolutely anything. They will happily throw away their lives just to spite you, and unlike cruel and wicked men, they will never grow bored or tired of hurting others." He drew a kunai and advanced on Iruka's prone form.

Naruto crossed the distance and interposed himself between Mizuki and Iruka, his hands already forming the seals for the Shadow Clone technique. "No, I – I'm not gonna let you!" He split his mind into _three_ parts, chakra pounding through his veins and draining away at an alarming rate as two more shadow clones burst into being with an expulsion of air. "I'll fight you if I have to!"

Mizuki raised an eyebrow, but kept advancing with dagger in hand. Naruto's newly formed clones circled around him and charged from both sides, but Mizuki merely dodged backwards and took one of them out with a thrown shuriken before stabbing the other with his knife. Naruto nearly collapsed on the spot, the sheer agony of having his liver ruptured proving almost too much to bear, but it was only the phantom pain of a shadow clone's dying memory.

"The Shadow Clone technique is meant for running interference and reconnaissance," Mizuki said amusedly. "It's not a combat technique, as you just found out. If you're unable to hit your opponent, making more of yourself is a waste of chakra. Still, to think you could learn an A-rank technique like that after only a few weeks… There you have the difference between those with access to forbidden knowledge and those without. If I had that scroll at your age, I might have been the Hokage by now!"

Uhm," said Naruto. "I don't think so. I mean, the Shadow Clone technique is hard to learn because it costs a ton of chakra, and you gotta have a mind that's really, uh, flexible. It just happens that I've got those things already, but for someone like you it'd be much harder."

Mizuki gave him a long stare, seemingly trying to decide whether to believe him or not, but then shrugged. "It doesn't matter. There must be over a hundred techniques in that scroll: I could become a seals master, a genjutsu expert or a ninjutsu specialist. I won't be a second-rate ninja regardless." He motioned with his dagger. "Now give me the scroll and get out of my way, or I really will kill you. After all these years of being forced to teach teenagers, I'm fresh out of tolerance for youthful exuberance."

Naruto took the giant scroll from his back, moving with deliberate slowness, and stopped mid-motion. "Wait… how do I know you'll really let me go? You might be trying to trick me."

Mizuki raised a bemused eyebrow. "You'll just have to rely on my sterling reputation."

He shook his head, defiantly. "No, you gotta make it a promise, or else I won't give it to you."

"You want me to-" The man's mouth opened and closed again. "Fine, I _promise_ not to gut you like a fish. Now give me the bloody scroll!" He advanced on Naruto, his knife outstretched menacingly, then paused and turned around. "Wait, what was that?"

Naruto focused chakra to his ears, but there was nothing except the sound of crickets chirping in the evening air. "I don't hear anything."

"No, of _course_ you don't." Mizuki swivelled around, searching the treeline. "Who's there? What do you want?" His head snapped around again to face the other direction. "No, no, no! I was so careful! How did they find out?" He turned to face Naruto, his face contorted with rage. "What did you _do_?"

"When Shadow clones disappear, their chakra's sent to the other bodies along with their memories," Naruto explained. "Like you said, it's not really a combat technique." _And the Byakugan gives perfect telescopic vision. Even if you'd moved away from here, Hinata-chan still would've sent the Anbu after you._

Mizuki glanced around the forest clearing, clutching his knife like a shield. "No… there's too many of them, too fast. They shouldn't be here! I only killed Iruka – they have no reason to care!" He twisted around to stare at Naruto again. "But of course... with that hair, and those eyes, and that name! I should've _realized_. Of course they would be keeping a close eye on _you_."

"What? What do you mean?" But instead of replying, Mizuki pulled Naruto in front of him and held a knife to his throat.

"Stay back!" he called out. "I have your precious legacy. Now we're going to talk this out like reasonable people, or the boy dies!"

"Uhm, I don't think that's gonna work." Naruto swallowed thickly, all too aware of the cold steel pressed against his throat. "Because… I used the Shadow Clone technique earlier, to study with Hinata-chan, and I think – I think I might be the clone?" Mizuki looked down at him, disbelieving. In reply Naruto formed the necessary seals, split his mind, and created another shadow clone. The newly created clone pinched him in the arm, and he vanished, and then he was free of Mizuki's grasp and remembered both pinching his clone and being pinched just a moment ago.

The two looked at each other, wordlessly.

The silence was interrupted by a crunching sound coming from the treeline, and Mizuki turned to face in that direction, eyes wide with fear. It was the sound of a large animal that crushed all leaves and shrubbery before it, the kind of animal that was prey to no other, and wanted you to know it was coming.

"No." Mizuki's face turned deathly pale. "Not him. Not _him_!" He formed the seals for his earth technique, and the ground softened up beneath him, and began to swallow him up. For a moment Naruto thought he would get away, but then all around him the roots and vines began to twist and bend, and seized him by his legs, pulling him out even as his fingers dragged along the dirt. "No!"

Naruto could see them now: All along the treeline, crouching on the ground and standing on top of the highest branches as well, there were _shadows_. Black cloaked, and hooded, with no faces but for the masks they wore, which were white as death. They stayed there, watching silently, but never moved.

The crunching sound was coming closer, now.

"No!" Mizuki had found his knife and was cutting at the branches with wide, unfocused sweeps. When they regrew anew, he turned the knife to his own throat, but then stopped. The knife stayed there, a mere hair's breadth from his skin, and would go no further. His whole body trembled as the roots grew around him, seizing him, pushing him to his knees and drawing his arms behind his back. Even his mouth no longer seemed to be his own, now.

There was a final crunching sound, and then the newcomer stepped out of the treeline and came into view. The first word that came to Naruto's mind was _bear_. Huge, and with a black overcoat that made him even larger, he wore a grey uniform and a black cap on a bold head. Scars ran criss-cross along his face, as if he had fought a monster with claws – and presumably won, because he was _smiling_. It was the sort of smile that was used to remind the other party of the existence of teeth. He was flanked on either side by a man and a woman, with black cloaks and white masks both, and they had to be the ones casting the techniques, for the newcomer had both hands in his coat, and was slouching.

"Mizuki, Mizuki, Mizuki…" The bear drew closer and placed one gloved hand on Mizuki's head, nearly closing around it, and gave it a light squeeze. "Why'd you have to go after the children? You know that makes papa Ibiki upset…"

Thin trails of blood trickled down Mizuki's eyes, and he screamed soundlessly.

* * *

"You okay there, kiddo?"

Naruto blinked. He was sitting on a chair in the kitchen of their apartment, a cup of hot tea in his hands. He was wearing a large black cloak that a masked woman with purple hair had given him, because he had 'looked cold', but the exact details of it eluded him. Jiraiya was sitting opposite him, an unusually serious look on his face.

"…what?"

"I asked how you're feeling," Jiraiya said in a concerned voice. "You were just letting us know what happened, when all of a sudden you froze up, like you've seen a daemon or something."

Naruto frowned. He was feeling… calm. Strangely calm, considering. Just a second ago, there had been… bad things happening, to someone – and then… he glanced around, trying to make out his surroundings through the haze. "How did I get here? What's going on?"

Jiraiya turned to look at the person standing beside Naruto – a middle-aged man in a red coat with blond hair tied back in a ponytail – and shot him an accusing glare.

The man shook his head. "It's the shadow clones he's been using. They keep dissipating and interfering with my technique. You only have yourself to blame for letting your child teach himself forbidden techniques unsupervised; if I had let Ino do something like that, my wife would be murdering me right about now. Count yourself lucky you only have to answer to the Hokage."

"Yeah, yeah." Jiraiya waved him off. "I'm sure you can find yer way out, Inoichi." There was the sound of equipment being gathered, followed by retreating footsteps and a door being closed shut.

"What happened? I was just… I was in the forest, and there was a man… then, nothing."

"You probably bit yer tongue, and popped," Jiraiya suggested. "Happened to me once: I was just about to beat the stuffing out of Orochimaru, when I tripped and found myself back in my original body again. I later heard that the snaky bastard laughed for a full minute before he tugged his tail and ran."

Some of Naruto's sanity started to come back to him, and with it his memories as well. He – the original Naruto – had been escorted back to the apartment the moment he and Hinata had sounded the alarm, only to find Jiraiya already there, along with the strange blond man. "Who… who was that?"

"What, Inoichi? He's the head of the Yamanaka Clan. He leads Konoha's intelligence division under Ibiki, who is head of the Torture and Interrogation division of the Anbu. That lot always panics when a traitor's found, and starts asking pointed questions – the kind you can't choose not to answer." He nodded at Naruto's cup. "Drink yer tea. You'll feel better."

Naruto took a sip. The tea was hot and strong, and it must have had some kind of herb in it, because just the smell of it was making him feel sleepy. "So, what's gonna happen now?"

Jiraiya sighed. "There's bound t' be an investigation, and more questions… and I'll hafta hand over that scroll of course. But you don't need to worry about any of that stuff: I'll tell the proctors you're too shaken up to take the exams, and arrange something with the Third under the table, so you can take it easy for a while."

Naruto nodded mutely, too tired to raise any objections. Something was wrong, terribly wrong, but it was getting harder and harder for him to remember what it was. "Mizuki," he heard himself say, even as he started nodding off. "What… what happened…to him…"

"He's with Ibiki now." Naruto started to fall from his chair, but large, strong hands took hold of him, and began to carry him upstairs. "Probably best not to think about it," was the last he heard Jiraiya say.


	5. For Whom the Bell Tolls

**A/N** : Good news, everyone! I thought this site's ban against interactive stories meant that I wouldn't be allowed to read your reviews for fear that they would influence my story, but it turns out they only ban _causal_ interaction. So please go ahead and write your reviews - I'll just use my Bayesian reasoning to a-causally infer what you're _going_ to write and adjust my story based on that, though bear in mind that in accordance with Timeless Decision Theory (TM) you will have to actually write the reviews in order to make your pre-commitment credible. I am not liable for any damage done to multiverse stability that may be incurred if you create a paradox by refusing to write a review that I have already read.

Oh, and speaking of damage done to the multiverse: If you live in the US, _please_ vote against Donald Trump tomorrow. I wouldn't normally bother you with politics like this, but it is rather relevant in this case since I won't be able to continue writing this story if you inadvertently destroy the world.

* * *

"As of today, you are all ninja. To get here you faced many trials and hardships, but what comes next will be far more difficult…"

The chūnin delivering the standard-issue academy graduation speech was not anyone Naruto knew, nor cared to know. The last he heard, Iruka-sensei was in the hospital undergoing extensive surgery, and most likely would never be able to walk again. And as for Mizuki-sensei… nobody so much as mentioned him anymore, after he disappeared with the faceless men in the forest. Even Sakura had passed up the opportunity to lecture Naruto when he tried explaining to her what had happened, giving him only a vaguely concerned look before changing the topic. It was as if the man had never even existed.

What Mizuki-sensei had told him back then, about the two rival groups of ninjas in Konoha – traitor or not, it had to have been based on _something_. He remembered how Iruka had reacted when Naruto questioned the Fourth Hokage's role in defeating the Kyūbi, lashing out almost as if he had been _afraid_. And then there was that blond man, in the red coat, who worked for the Bear in the Forest… he had been trying to do something with Naruto's mind, he was sure of it. The disjointed thoughts circled around in Naruto's mind, trying to form a clear picture and failing. Something was rotten about the whole affair – like a churning in his stomach that told him he ate something foul, even without knowing what it was.

"As genin, you will be grouped together into three-man teams. Each team will be led by a more experienced chūnin or jōnin, who will take on a combined role as your captain, teacher and mentor during missions. From them you will learn all the vital ninja skills that cannot be taught in any classroom."

Those words instantly shook Naruto from his reverie, and he cursed inwardly: After everything that had happened with Sasuke and Sakura and Hinata and Mizuki and Jiraiya, he only just now realized that one of the most important choices of his life was about to be decided for him. A man whose name he did not know was about to tell Naruto which people he would serve with on a team for who knew how many years. Depending on their character, they might make Naruto happy or miserable, and depending on their skill they might end up saving his life or getting him killed. All he could think was how _pointless_ it all was, that his entire future was about to be decided and he had done absolutely nothing to influence it – he had not even _noticed_ that there was a choice to be made until it was too late.

"I will now announce the squads in numerical order. The following students are part of Team One…"

Naruto looked around the classroom, trying to decide who he would have wanted to put in his team if he could have affected the decision. _Kiba, the feral ninja? No, he's strong, but he'd just rush headlong into any fight. Sakura? She's brilliant, but she has no clan to teach her so she's probably the weakest fighter. Shikamaru is smart but he's too lazy, and Hinata-chan is really just too nice to be a ninja. Who else…_

"Next up, Team Seven, under Hatake Kakashi: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke."

Naruto exploded upwards from his seat. "Uchiha Sasuke? Are you people serious? That bastard nearly killed me just a few months ago, in case you forgot! Why the heck would you put us together?"

The teacher adjusted his glasses, and gave him a contemptuous glare. "Teams are formed based on how their abilities are able to complement each other in the field. Team Eight is intended as a specialist scouting squad, combining Lady Hinata's Byakugan with Inuzuka Kiba's tracking abilities and Aburame Shino's insects. The Ino-Shika-Cho formation has proved throughout the generations to present an exceedingly potent combination of clan abilities. Team Seven on the other hand traditionally consists of the most intelligent and talented ninjas of their generation, in order to create a formidable crisis-response unit that is capable of not only countering hidden threats to the Village as they arise, but also of adapting to new developments in the field and responding on their own initiative as needed. Haruno Sakura is included in this elite team because she has the most impressive academic scores of this year's students by far, while the lord Uchiha has the best grades overall. I can't say for certain why _you_ were included however, as you appear to have forgotten to take the final exam entirely." As he said the last part the class burst into scornful laughter, and Naruto shrank back in his seat, his face burning red.

As the teacher continued reading from his list, Naruto was left clenching his fists in frustrated helplessness. He shot an involuntary glance towards Sasuke. The Uchiha heir sat with his hands folded together under his chin, looking as dispassionate as ever, but when he saw Naruto looking he smirked, which infuriated Naruto even more. No sooner had the class been dismissed and the students started filing out, or Naruto grabbed him by the shirt and rounded on him. "You! I don't know who thought it was a good idea to group us together, but it's obvious you and I are never gonna get along!"

"Naruto!" Sakura cried, scandalized, as she pulled him back by the scruff of his jacket. "What the heck is your problem? Did you forget what happened the last time you two fought?" She turned to Sasuke and bowed slightly. "I'm terribly sorry about this. Please forgive him; he's a little bit simple."

Sasuke brushed her off. "Not at all, he has every right to be angry with me. Naruto, I apologize for beating you into the dirt and making you wet your pants in fear. That was unseemly of me."

"Hah! Sorry, yeah, as if!" Naruto stuck an accusing finger out at his enemy, searching for an amazing comeback that just barely eluded his grasp. "I bet… I bet someone like you isn't even able to feel sorry! You can't feel other people's pain at all, can you?"

"Of course I can sense your pain," Sasuke said, sounding offended. "How else could it amuse me so?"

At this point Sakura had to intervene again, pushing Naruto back before he could try to wipe that insufferable smirk from Sasuke's face. "Enough! We've only just been sorted into this team; we can't be seen fighting already! We've got to at least try and work together."

Naruto had to admit that this was an eminently reasonable point of view, which unfortunately did not make it any less irritating to hear. He shook himself loose. "So who is this Hatake Kakashi guy, anyway?"

"You don't know?" She looked shocked for a fraction of a second, but then started happily talking away. "He's one of the most amazing ninjas in the Leaf! He's famed across the world as Kakashi of the Sharingan eye. He's the son of the White Fang, who was said to be just as strong as the Sannin, and they say that in time he might surpass even them! We're incredibly lucky to have someone like him as a teacher."

-o-

"That is such horseshit."

Naruto found himself in the unpleasant situation of having to agree with Uchiha Sasuke. After getting dragged all the way to the Forest Training Grounds with no explanation offered, he was not in the mood to be led around the bush by this supposed 'genius ninja'. Having grown up with one of the legendary Sannin, Naruto knew full well how the reputations of famous ninja tended to get exaggerated. Still, the way the elite jōnin slouched in the centre of the clearing with both hands in his pockets, he looked like he would rather be anywhere else in the world but here. With his black fatigues and forest-green jacket he might have looked the perfect image of a Konoha shinobi, but the effect was ruined by the ridiculous mess of silver-grey hair that pointed roughly upwards and to his left. His face was almost entirely obscured by his mask and headband, which he had pulled down to cover his left eye, and it might have lent him an air of mystery if not for- _seriously,_ _does he style his hair like that on purpose, or what?_

"Yeah," said Naruto, "you can't send us back to the Academy if we fail your stupid test! Even if you had the power to do that to me or Sakura, the whole point of this is that we fight in teams of three, and there's no way our precious _lord Uchiha_ would ever get sent back."

Sasuke nodded. "Exactly. And since Naruto here is our number-one expert in passing tests without actually taking them, sending him back to the academy would be completely pointless." This earned him another death glare from Naruto, which the Uchiha heir seemed only too happy to ignore.

Hatake Kakashi threw up his hands in mock surrender. "Well, it seems you guys are too clever to fall for my bluff: You're right, I can't actually send you back to the Academy. Then again, every team still needs a sensei, and all the good ones have been taken by now. Meaning that if I suddenly became unavailable, you just might end up with a second-rate chūnin as your teacher... in which case you might prefer to wait a year to try and change my mind instead. But hey, it's your choice."

Naruto gritted his teeth, and he saw that Sasuke was glowering at their teacher as well. _What a bastard…_

The silver-haired man extended an arm and revealed what he had been holding in his hand. Dangling from his index finger, a short and fragile piece of string bound two metal bells together. "Your task is to take these from me before noon," he announced, as he deftly bound the bells to the lower rim of his armoured jacket. "Normally I'd tell you that whoever does not have a bell by then will be sent back to the academy, but since you're too clever for that, I'll just say that you'll come to regret it if you don't manage to capture at least one. Oh, and don't hesitate to use your kunai and shuriken. You won't stand a chance unless you come at me with intent to kill."

Sakura spoke up for the first time since their introduction, the words seeming to blurt out of her mouth. "But, that's far too dangerous! I know you're a jōnin, but if there's even just a one in a thousand chance that we'll land a fatal blow, then in a hundred training sessions there's still a significant chance you'll die!"

"Nah, this one's probably just a shadow clone," Naruto pointed out. "He gets all the benefit of a realistic test without any of the danger. That's what all the smart ninja do… or so I'm told."

Their teacher shrugged noncommittally. "Who knows? Anyway, that's about it. Get ready… start!"

Sasuke and Sakura Immediately dashed off in opposite directions, heading for the trees surrounding the training field with no heed to Naruto's calls for them to stop. "No, wait, don't split up!" He groaned loudly. "Great, now I'm gonna have to go look for them first."

Kakashi tilted his head slightly. "You're not going to hide like the others?"

"There's no _point_ in hiding. I mean, you're right there waiting for us to take the bells while we're the ones on a time-limit, and it's not like you couldn't find them if you wanted to." He formed the seals for the Shadow Clone technique and split into three instances of himself. As he and his clone ran after Sakura and Sasuke, he could hear the voice of the clone that remained behind talking to Hatake Kakashi.

"So seriously, what's up with your haircut, anyway?"

-o-

"It's totally impossible," Naruto repeated. It had taken him some time to chase down his team mates, and now it was taking even more time to convince them that ambushing Kakashi was not going to work. "He's an elite jōnin, and we're only genin. If he really has the Sharingan then illusions like the transformation technique are not gonna work either. He could be _sleeping_ and it wouldn't make a difference."

Sakura reluctantly agreed. "I looked up his public records last night, and he's not bluffing: He really did fail the last five teams that took his test. It seems the entrance test for Team Seven is harsher than any of the others." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And there are rumours going around – they say he's not just an elite jōnin, but a former _captain of the_ _Anbu_. They call him cold-hearted Kakashi, the friend-killer…"

There was a moment of silence as they took this in. The three of them were huddled together in the forest undergrowth, trying to hide from the person who was purposely trying not to find them – which meant they were either earning points for doing what they were supposed to, or losing points for doing something futile. _This is why I hate tests: It's only ever about guessing what the teacher wants from you._

"It could still work if he underestimates us," Sasuke said eventually. "As you said, he could defeat us in an instant if he wanted to, but he's holding back and we can use that against him. As long as we play the part of clueless genin, he will give us an opening out of a misguided sense of fairness, and in that one instant I'll unleash my true power and seize victory."

Naruto eyed him narrowly. "…you're just full of crap, aren't you, Sasuke?"

"Perhaps," said Sasuke. "Or maybe I'm just pretending to be full of crap, but really I know exactly what I'm doing. You'd never know the difference."

"We might be overthinking this," Sakura said, aborting the argument. "If the test is impossible then there's no point in worrying about it, so we should just work together, do our best and hope we can impress the teacher enough to let us pass."

Sasuke sniffed. "I somehow doubt he's the type to award points for _trying_. But do whatever you want."

"We should pool our resources," Naruto said. "Nothing simple's gonna work against a jōnin, but if we combine our techniques, maybe we can find a way to surprise him. We should empty our pouches too: Kunai, shuriken, explosive tags… if we're gonna stand a chance we need to use everything we've got."

As they worked, the sun steadily climbed higher in the sky.

-o-

When they returned to the clearing they found their teacher reading a book – one of Jiraiya's stupid novels by the looks of it. He was blissfully ignoring the shadow clone Naruto had left behind, who was happily chatting away about the different flavours of ramen available at old man Teuchi's place. When they arrived, the jōnin reluctantly put the book away and addressed them.

"Well, you guys certainly took a while. Are you finally ready?"

In reply, Naruto sent all four of his shadow clones to charge his opponent from different directions. Hatake Kakashi responded by taking his ancestral white chakra sword from his back. With the blade still in its sheath, he swung his weapon in lazy arcs and took each of Naruto's clones out before they could even get close, the merest touch proving sufficient to dispel them. A wave of disorientation washed over Naruto, conflicting memories of being in five different places at once nearly causing him to stumble and fall.

"That's not going to work," Kakashi said mildly.

Naruto made a show of shouting his defiance: "We're not gonna give up just yet!" He formed the seals and split himself into five more parts – which was the most he could currently manage. Meanwhile, Sasuke and Sakura were using the transformation technique to make themselves look like Naruto. Two of his shadow clones had used the transformation technique as well, to appear as his team mates. They all charged at the same time, with only Naruto's transformed clones remaining behind while their real bodies joined in with the attackers.

 _He's not using the Sharingan yet, and he doesn't wanna risk hurting us… this could work!_

The first shadow clones were easily taken apart, but then the sword struck Naruto's real body, and he grasped onto the scabbard while blocking out the pain. Kakashi instantly let go of the weapon, forming a seal to send a shower of sparks in every direction, popping the remaining clones – at which point Sasuke and Sakura dropped their illusions and charged straight through the sparks with knives outstretched. Kakashi drew his sword straight from the scabbard still in Naruto's hands, then flicked it around and gave each of them a smack to the head with the flat of the blade. As they staggered back painfully, their teacher calmly plucked the scabbard from Naruto's hands and sheathed his sword once more.

"Illusions; how clever. I suppose I should use my Sharingan…" his hand slowly reached for his eye patch.

Naruto gritted his teeth and cast his shadow clone technique once more. Five more Shadow clones appeared around him and circled Kakashi. They all threw their shuriken at the same time, a storm of metal from every direction that should have been impossible to dodge, yet the jōnin slipped between half of them like a ghost while parrying the others effortlessly. Then Naruto's clones flared their chakra and leaped _over_ Kakashi, taking caltrops and chains and daggers from their pockets and cloning the items everywhere around him. Kakashi disappeared under a tsunami of metal pressing in on every side.

 _Now!_

Sasuke inhaled deeply and breathed out a blazing ball of fire directly onto the pile of metal, only for the shards to fly off in every direction as a sudden wave of water met the ball of fire with a loud _hiss_. As the curtain of steam slowly parted, their teacher was revealed standing in the centre, completely unharmed.

"So, is that it? Are you done? Then I suppose it's my turn." The man turned and charged towards Sakura, who panicked and formed the seals for the clone technique. Four mirror images appeared, illusions far more realistic than Naruto could have made them, but even without the Sharingan Kakashi saw straight through it: He kicked the real Sakura right as she raised her arms to block, and she flew backwards towards the treeline, her body colliding with a tree and slumping over – blood trickling from her mouth and with her arm bent at a wrong angle.

Naruto rushed forward without thinking, but his opponent calmly stepped in his path, and he ground to a halt. " _Hey_ ," he yelled, "you bastard, what the heck happened to trying not to hurt us?"

"Your subordinates tend to get hurt when you give them the wrong orders, did nobody ever tell you that?" Kakashi regarded Naruto coolly with his one visible eye. "What was that girl doing attacking me in melee along with your clones? It's clear that she has no close combat ability, but you put her in danger regardless because you didn't want her to _feel left out_."

Naruto cast the shadow clone technique once more, managing to create four more clones. "She's not my subordinate, and that was her decision, not mine!" He slipped each of the clones an explosive tag, and they rushed him all at once, prepared to blow themselves up along with Kakashi. The jōnin formed a seal and body-flickered right in front of him, but then Naruto's view shifted as one of his shadow clones switched positions with him and exploded right in his teacher's face. When the view cleared, only a shattered log remained, Kakashi having cast the body-replacement technique at the same time he did.

"A leader who won't lead is the worst one of all," Kakashi said as he appeared behind Naruto, forming another seal. Without anything having hit him Naruto collapsed onto the ground in spasms, raw _agony_ coursing through his body unlike anything he had felt before. It was as if every muscle in his body contracted at once, with such force that he feared his body would tear itself apart. He dimly heard Kakashi speak. "Do you think this is a game? You children… what exactly do you think you're all training to become? What do you think would happen to you if this were a real battle? If you can't handle at least this much pain, you should stop now and go back home."

"My home is gone," said a voice. The burning agony vanished as Kakashi dodged a volley of thrown shuriken. Naruto took the opportunity to empty his stomach onto the ground, the stench of it making him even more nauseous, but he forced himself to look up regardless.

Kakashi regarded Sasuke calmly. "Ah, let me guess: You were waiting for the others to get out of your way, and now you're going to show me your fabled Uchiha power." When it became clear no reply was forthcoming, he only shrugged. "You know… it's really quite pathetic, the way you cling onto your clan's name as though it still means something. A real clan like the Hyūga draws their power from their connections and family ties. All you have is an afterimage left behind by former greatness, and once that illusion is dispelled you'll have nothing left. But then, you already know that, don't you?"

From his angle, Naruto could see it well: Sasuke's eyes _twisted_ in his sockets and turned crimson. From his mouth shot forth several balls of fire, while at the same time he threw kunai attached to wire strings in the blind spot behind the flames. When Kakashi raised a wall of water, the fire turned to steam, but the projectiles shot right through. The jōnin drew his sword to parry, but Sasuke pulled onto the wire strings and the kunai wrapped _around_ Kakashi, the explosive tags attached to the handles already igniting. There was a sudden blast of lightning that set Kakashi free, but one of the kunai was sent hurling in Sakura's direction, the explosive tag about to go off in her face.

 _No!_ Naruto tried to get up, but his body would not move in time. Sasuke rushed towards Sakura but he was too slow. There was a flicker in the air as Kakashi appeared beside her, and then Sakura stabbed him.

Naruto blinked, disoriented. Kakashi was leaping backwards, a knife sticking out of his armoured jacket, while Sasuke moved to where Sakura was. "Tch... All that effort, and you hit him where he's armoured."

"Sorry Sasuke-kun." Sakura was standing up painfully, the blood on her mouth having vanished. "You know I'm no good in close combat. You should have let Naruto do it."

 _A transformation technique, to make her look more hurt than she was. And a fake explosive tag… did they improvise all of that?_

"Hmph. You don't need the Sharingan to see through _Naruto's_ illusions." Sasuke turned and gave him a contemptuous look. "Are you planning to contribute any time soon, or are you going to keep lying there in the dirt?"

"Bastard." Somehow, the anger was enough to convince his body that it was not actually hurt, and he climbed to his feet. The three of them stood side by side, facing down their invincible opponent. "So… how are we gonna beat this guy? Any ideas?"

"There's no need." Hatake Kakashi was smiling, and it was visible even through his mask. "You all pass."

Naruto stared at him, uncomprehending. "What? But we didn't even get a single bell. Then what was the point of all that? Was it just to see if we would work together?"

"No, team work can be taught. What I wanted to see was whether you would make an actual effort." Kakashi started walking to the edge of the training area, motioning for them to follow. "The academy has stopped preparing students for the realities of life as a ninja for a long time, now – but the graduation age for genin has not gone up, and sending them back was a way for me to give them at least one more year to mature a little. The others all treated it like a game… throwing a tantrum at the idea of being sent back to the academy, and then giving up the moment it became clear I wasn't playing around. I thought it would be the same for you, the way you were complaining and showing off how clever you were, but somewhere down the line you actually started taking it seriously." They stopped at a black monolith, which Naruto had seen before but never paid attention to. "Do you know what this is?"

Naruto shook his head, but he could see Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widen in recognition.

"The names of my closest friends are engraved on this memorial stone. Some of them died because they received the wrong orders, and others for no reason at all, but those who died because of me are the ones I regret the most. The day may come when you find yourself facing an enemy you simply cannot beat, and you end up having to weigh the lives of your comrades against the mission. My father took his own life after having to make that choice, and I lost my childhood friends in a similar situation. That's the price you'll pay if you ever find yourself unprepared: Not being sent back to the academy, but _death_."

Naruto said nothing. He suddenly felt very foolish, and he suspected the others felt much the same.

"As of this moment, you are officially members of Team Seven, just as I was before you. I will do my best to instil in you the teachings that the Academy did not consider important, and if you live long enough to reach the rank of jōnin, I expect you to teach your students the same. For that is the burning Will of Fire that was passed down by the First Hokage, who dreamed of a day when his students would put an end to all the darknessin the world… a will to wisdom that was passed down through the generations: To the legendary Sannin, to my father the White Fang, and to the Fourth Hokage who was my teacher." Kakashi turned away from the black stone to face them. "Do you remember the verse, which is meant to teach you how a ninja should fight? I will have you repeat it, so that you never forget."

The three looked confused for a moment, but then Sasuke started speaking in an almost reverential tone. Sakura followed, and finally Naruto remembered the words as well. They spoke them all in front of the black obelisk like a prayer, as the sun finally reached its summit and began its long descent.

" _When does a ninja strike?"_

" _A ninja waits until the time is right."_

" _When the enemy sleeps and drops his guard."_

" _When his weapons lie forgotten in the stillness of the night…"_

" _That is the moment for a ninja to strike."_


	6. Resolutions and Revelations

**A/N** : I'm not sure everyone fully appreciates what just happened, so let me give a brief summary of humanity's history so far.

There once was a species which inhabited a universe so hostile to life that throughout their entire existence, they never once detected a sign of any other race in the galaxy. Even on their own planet, the very sun which gave them life brought death also, and the plants and animals around them all competed to devour each other. In fact, the very basis of life from which they arose was uncontrolled cellular replication - also known as cancer - meaning that the very darkness they so despised lived within them and fought to break free. Creatures of paradox, they were Order given birth by Chaos, and the instant Order failed their bodies were consumed by the very same Chaos that gave them life.

Faced with this stark reality, humanity divided into two groups: Those who gave up hope and embraced Chaos - quieting their minds and telling themselves pleasant lies to avoid having to face the darkness - and those who fought back. Those who embraced chaos enjoyed far greater numbers, for they reproduced and consumed with no heed for the consequences, but those who were of Order devised technology and culture, and they slowly grew in power. Time and time again great civilizations rose up as Order thrived, only for the insidious forces of Chaos to rise up and consume them the moment they let down their guard. After the Second Great Darkness, the forces of Order declared themselves to have learned their lesson, and said "Never again!" They resolved that from that point onwards, all the forces of Order would practice constant vigilance against Chaos, working together regardless of their own feuds and vowing never to let down their guard for the sake of Civilization itself.

And then a few generations later they voted for a man who acted almost entirely at random, asking without any trace of irony: "What's the worst that could happen?"

We now return to your regularly scheduled Naruto fanfiction.

* * *

Naruto waited until well after he heard the door of the apartment close and Jiraiya's footsteps died away, before sneaking out of his bed. He traversed the hall and stairs on tip-toes, still wearing his blue nightwear, and made his way to Jiraiya's bedroom, softly locking the door behind him. It was as big a mess as it always was; full of worn clothes and crumpled notes and with a lingering smell of alcohol that pervaded the room. Another person might have wondered whether the person who slept there was really a ninja at all, and not just some local drunk, but Naruto knew better.

Searching through the belongings of a ninja was incredibly dangerous, as there was always the risk of traps – which was why Naruto had sent a shadow clone to search the room. It was underneath his godfather's bed that he found what he was looking for: A metal box of which he had once caught a glimpse while peeking through a crack in the door as Jiraiya looked at the parchment contained within. The box was locked and covered in an array of protective seals carved within the very metal, but the shadow clone technique provided a way around that also: He infused the box itself with chakra, slowly spreading it out through his palms, and formed the seals for his technique – creating a clone of the box itself along with its contents. With another seal he dispelled the cloned box, but by keeping the entities distinct within his mind, the pages inside remained intact as they piled onto the floor. He reached out with one trembling hand, the answers he had been looking for finally within his grasp.

"Actually, that's just the manuscript for my next book."

Naruto twisted around and stumbled in shock at what he saw. "Dad? But… _how_?"

Jiraiya harrumphed. "I may not look like it, but I _am_ a ninja, y'know." He picked up the metal box, sighed, and placed it back where Naruto found it. "I'm gonna have to find a better place to put that now... what'd ya expect to find in there, anyway?"

Naruto took a deep breath. "Dad… Am I the son of the Fourth Hokage?"

His godfather turned around in shock. "The Fourth Hokage? Why on earth would you think that?"

"It was in the forest," Naruto explained. "Mizuki-sensei asked why so many Anbu came after us, so fast, and he said…" _Thin trails of blood trickled down Mizuki's eyes, and he screamed soundlessly._ "…he said of course they would be watching me, because of my eyes and hair. Dad, the Fourth Hokage was one of the only people with blond hair and blue eyes in the Village, in the _whole_ _world_."

"But… the Fourth Hokage, Naruto! You can't possibly believe one of the Leaf's greatest heroes was your dad, just because of the colour of yer hair!"

Naruto shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, dad. Things don't become less likely just because you say it in a way that sounds impressive, or because you make the evidence sound stupid. I guess I could have Yamanaka blood or something like that man from yesterday, but then why cover it up? Why is one of the Third's legendary students and the Fourth's teacher my godfather, and why are the Anbu watching me? That only makes it more likely that my dad was someone important. Plus I already know I'm related to the Uzumaki clan, just like the Fourth Hokage's wife."

"But –"

"…but all of that's not even counting the fact that you haven't actually tried _denying_ it," Naruto finished. He crossed his arms and glared at Jiraiya, willing his adoptive father to lie to him.

The old Sage let out a long sigh. "I guess you really are just as brainy as yer old man was…" He rolled up the sleeve of his green short-shirt kimono, revealing that not only his hand but also his arms were covered in tattoos; a vast network of seals all over his body. Touching one of the markings, a scroll appeared in mid-air, which he caught and spread out onto the wooden floor. The scroll was inscribed with yet more seal work, a series of intricate symbols each with a circle in the middle, and he touched one of these with his finger. A box appeared in its place; an unadorned wooden chest with a simple bronze lock.

With the tip of a kunai Jiraiya drew a drop of blood from his thumb, before forming hand-signs and pressing both hands onto the wooden floor. A small orange toad appeared before him then, and after Jiraiya uttered a passphrase spoken only in rapid clicks, it opened its mouth and handed him a bronze key with its tongue, before vanishing once more.

Jiraiya took the box and the key, and pushed both of them in Naruto's direction. "This'll be what you were looking for, I reckon. Go on then, open her up."

Naruto accepted them in reverent silence. The key had no cuts or wards, but as it was bound to be covered in yet more invisible seals Naruto was sure that made no difference. With trembling hands he placed the key against the lock, and when the box opened and revealed a parchment inside, it was with trembling hands that he read the scroll.

" _Naruto. My son,_

 _There is so much I want to tell you, yet time is running out even as I hold this quill, and the fate of our Village and the world may well depend on what I write. Your mother has no chance to say anything at all, as she died in defence of this Village and its people, so I must count myself fortunate to have even this small opportunity. They say two shinobi of sufficient skill can see into each other's hearts with just a single exchange of blows, so I can only hope that by the time you read this, you are able to imagine all that we would say to you if we could see you now. No matter what happens, know that we love and support you in all that you do._

 _Second only to that, the most important fact for you to learn is that this attack was no accident: Someone planned for the Nine-tails to be released, foresaw all the devastation and tragedy it would bring, and decided to make it a reality. I suspect their main intention was to kill me, knowing that in Jiraiya-sensei's absence only I would be able to sacrifice my life to seal the Beast once more. If that is the case then they may come after you as well, because of your relation to me and as an inheritor to the Will of Fire – both of which make you a potential future candidate for the position of Hokage. But no matter their motivations, you should assume this person to be the most dangerous foe you could ever face. Beyond raw physical power, more so even than their mastery over darkness and whatever other techniques they may possess, it is their prudence and wisdom that frighten me the most. For a monster to have those traits and yet still remain a monster is a perfect storm indeed._

 _The most important skill for any ninja to possess is the ability to remain hidden: Your foes cannot fight you if they do not know you exist, nor uncover your secrets if they are not aware of them. The Enemy has mastered this skill, and you must do the same. Your opponent will have spies and pawns even within the walls of Konoha, so you must not reveal any secrets you uncover without thinking twice and then twice again, or it will not just be you but those you care for who pay the price for your mistake._

 _You must not, under any circumstances, trust the man called Shimura Danzō._

 _Jiraiya-sensei and the Third will fight this battle for you in your formative years, but if the one who hides in Darkness is Uchiha Madara as I fear, then we are dealing with an immortal shinobi who will wait patiently for forty years if it suits his plans. If that is the case and he has not made a fatal mistake by the time you read this, then you need to prepare and become stronger in any way you can. Contrary to popular belief, I find that battles are usually decided by the time swords are drawn, not when they are sheathed._

 _I see the preparations for the Nine-Tails are almost done, and they are calling for me. Naruto, I will leave the rest up to you. Looking at your frail little body, I still do not know if I am doing the right thing by sealing this creature within you. Yet I fear it is a dangerous world I'm leaving you in, and you will need whatever advantage I can give you. If I am wrong then I hope you will forgive me one day, and if ever you were to become Hokage, that you do a better job of it than I._

 _Your loving parents,_

 _mum and dad."_

Naruto blinked hard as he stared at those last words, trying vainly to bring them into focus. His hands were shaking harder now than when he had begun reading. There was too much, just too much to take in all at once: An attack on the village, the identity and deaths of his parents, secrets and conspiracy and an immortal enemy who controlled the darkness… yet when his lips parted, there was only the one thing that came forward, the one concern more pressing than any of the others.

"The Nine-tailed Daemon Fox," he said numbly. "I am host to the Nine-tailed Daemon Fox."

Jiraiya regarded him steadily from where he sat on his bed. "You didn't realize? I figured that since you already found out about your dad, you would've puzzled this one out too. I mean, what with the boosted chakra and healing, and people looking at you funny, like they sense something's off about you."

Naruto stared at him. "I was supposed to… to realize that I'm possessed by the _most powerful daemon in the world_ , just from that? That I'm, I'm the monster that parents scare their children with at night?" Another terrible thought occurred to him. "Wait, is that why people like Iruka-sensei never liked me? Because of what I am?" _They knew all along, calling me a monster behind my back… I'm such an idiot._

"No!" Jiraiya raised his hands. "You're not the Nine-tails, and we wouldn't do that to you even if you were. The peace depends on other countries not knowing our daemon host is a kid. The Fourth put the seal on your belly in secret, and there's only a handful of higher-ups who know about it. It's just…" He hesitated. "The Fourth set the seal up so that it leaks a small amount of daemonic chakra over time, so you could slowly absorb it and make its powers yer own. Only I think some of it is leaking out, and people can sense the Beast's killing intent, like you smell kinda funny."

 _Like I smell kinda funny..._ Naruto almost would have preferred it if they _had_ known, because then at least there would have been a reason for them to treat him the way they did. _But I guess people don't really need a reason, do they?_

A far worse realization came to him. "You're saying that the seal is _leaking_? Like it's gonna break, and, and the Kyūbi could just come free at any moment?" _If the Kyūbi really is just a mass of malevolent chakra like they say, then there's nothing that could kill it, nothing that could stop it from spreading..._ Before his eyes, a picture of abject horror unfolded, fuelled by endless night-time stories and history lessons: A nightmare of Fire that was more than fire, living flames that spread out to consume the entire world and all its people, a daemonic force tearing down all of existence because nobody had ever thought to consider the _risks_ …

Jiraiya snorted. "'Course not! Kid, the Uzumaki were the greatest sealsmiths in the world. It was the Fourth himself who cast the Dead Daemon Seal, and he possessed the kind of genius that comes only once a generation. That beasty isn't coming out unless someone opens the seal, and even then it's set up so it can only release as much chakra as yer body can handle. Tailed Beasts aren't much of a bother without their hosts to control 'em, anyway; unbound spirits are little more than animals, so they've got no real defence against genjutsu and the like. Even the Nine-tails was contained as soon as the Fourth sent the one controlling it scurrying back to his hiding place."

Naruto breathed out, his wits gradually returning to him as his heart rate slowed to a bearable rate. _Right... The Tailed Beasts were beaten before, so they can't actually be that dangerous, and the Kyūbi would've come out when I was a baby if it was that easy for it to escape._ Of course, that only meant that he could focus his growing panic on the bigger threat, which was…

"The one who hides in Darkness," he whispered. That was how the Fourth Hokage – his father – had described the enemy who had outwitted the greatest genius of his generation, and killed him without ever so much as laying a hand on him. "It can't _really_ be Uchiha Madara, can it? I mean, even if he didn't die in his duel with the First Hokage, he would have to be a hundred years old by now."

"It can be if he's immortal." Jiraiya fiddled idly with his hands, his fingers folding and intertwining with no apparent purpose. "This is Uchiha Madara we're talking about, kiddo: There are no impossibilities where that one's concerned. There's rumours he conducted dark rituals to gain the First Hokage's wood-style bloodline ability, which granted regeneration. If he managed that, he might still be alive – and happy to wait until all his enemies die of old age if that gives him the chance to put his twisted ideology in action."

"And… if it's not him?"

"Then any of our friends in the Village could be the Enemy in secret, plotting against us while putting on a friendly face, and we wouldn't know about it." Jiraiya shrugged. "It could've been the late head of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Fugaku, who felt his clan was being marginalized by the Village Council. It could be lord Danzō's scheme to rid the Leaf of someone he saw as a weak leader, or it could be that my former teammate Orochimaru felt bitter about not being chosen as the Fourth Hokage before he left the Village. And of course, any of our foreign enemies would've benefited from burning down our Village and killing the Fourth. It could've been Inoichi controlling the Kyūbi with his mind-body switch technique for all I know." Jiraiya was suddenly sitting at a small table that had appeared from nowhere, pouring a bottle of sake into one of two bowls. "Want some? I figured if we're gonna be up late, we might as well."

Naruto glared at him. "The tea was enough, thanks."

"Suit yerself." The old sage took a long swallow from his cup, then sat back and sighed. "See, this is why I didn't tell you about any of this stuff before: I wanted to keep you from having t' worry about Daemons and traitors and putting an end to all the darkness in the world, like the Fourth had to. They don't tell you this at the Academy, but fear and worry can kill you as sure as any shuriken... it keeps you alert when yer tired or weak, and that's all well and good, but keep it up for too long and it eats away at you 'til there's nothing left. Our history books are filled to the brim with brilliant shinobi who went funny in the head from getting too much responsibility, too fast – especially when they started young." He gave Naruto a hard look. "Leave this to me 'n' the Third. The Fourth might've expected you to follow in his footsteps, but yer still only a kid. Take the time to make some friends, become a chūnin at least. Do that and if by then we still haven't caught the bastard, then you can come and lend us a hand. Not before."

Naruto considered this. His godfather was making an unusual amount of sense, but… the thought of _not_ helping to fight the person who killed his parents and threatened the Village seemed unbearable to him. He shook his head. "Not a chance. I get that I'm not strong enough to fight yet, but… that's not what the enemy is doing either. I can still help by figuring out what's going on, and I think… I think that's what the Fourth wanted me to do, too."

"Good!" Jiraiya finished his drink and slammed the bowl onto the table, loud enough that Naruto jumped in his skin. "Fact is I haven't the right kind of mind for this sorta thing, anyway. Anyone who's smart enough t' figure out the riddle is a potential suspect, and the more people we talk to, the bigger the chance of a leak. So if you've got some clue of who we're up against, you just let me know… and I'll take care of blasting the bastard to smithereens."

Naruto swallowed thickly. He could not help but feel that his godfather's levity was a bit forced, considering the situation. He sat down, taking a deep breath. "What… what do we already know?"

"Nothing much, really." Jiraiya poured himself another cup. "All I've got is what the Fourth put in that letter, and what he told the Third: There was an explosion just as Kushina was giving birth, killing everyone in the building except fer you, and then something released the Nine-tails from your mum's belly and made it attack the Leaf. The Fourth figured that she must be controlled by genjutsu, and told Inoichi to look for a patch of chakra in the middle of the Village. He led an Anbu team against whoever was hiding inside it, but he found only darkness, and then the darkness vanished too."

"Hold on," said Naruto. "How did he know that? To look for the chakra, I mean."

A shrug was followed by another swallow. "He didn't say. I reckon he figured that's what the darkness would look like to Inoichi. As fer how he knew that, though... I'd ask him if I could."

Naruto frowned. He had wanted to check the reasoning of the Fourth – his dad – to see if it made sense: Even if the darkness and everything else fit with Madara being the Enemy, Naruto could not imagine that it was enough to think that an ancient shinobi thought long dead was the most likely culprit. Even if Madara had survived, it still made no sense that he would do nothing notable for forty years after losing his duel to the First Hokage, and then do nothing again for thirteen years after attacking the Village. On the other hand, it could well be that there was other evidence that Minato had relied on, which left Naruto with having to decide just how much he should trust the Fourth Hokage's judgment.

"Anyway, the Nine-tails was easily handled after that," Jiraiya continued. "Only it turned out that it was the beast itself that was being controlled, not yer mum, and so when the genjutsu ended, she… she was already gone." Jiraiya was not drinking anymore, but balanced his empty cup on its edge with one finger, and slowly spun it around in circles. His eyes were following its movements, as though hypnotized.

"Why me?" he whispered. "Why seal the daemon inside me, of all people? It defeats the whole point if the Daemon host can't actually fight! It should've been someone like you, or, or your friend Tsunade..."

"The Beast's got to go to someone young if its chakra is to merge with the host's over time," Jiraiya murmured. "But I reckon the Fourth was probably thinking that since he was about t' die, he wanted to at least leave something useful behind for his kid, to protect you in his place. You see, all Tailed Beasts have incredible restorative chakra, but combine that with the Uzumaki clan's natural vitality… Naruto, if you ever learn to fully control that creature's chakra, it's possible that you could never die – any injury you get, even whole organs lost, it would just heal right back."

On any other day Naruto's eyes would have widened in shock, but now it was just another blow to add to the ones that had struck him before. _Immortality..? Could it really be that easy?_ But no, his mother had died regardless, and to the very flames that were supposed to protect her as well. Considering the risk of letting it escape by accident, Naruto was not sure he could justify using the Kyūbi's power at all. Either way, the Fourth had been acting almost entirely irrationally, near the end: After sacrificing everything to become Hokage, he had sacrificed himself so that the Village would hold on to its Daemon, only to host the Beast inside a child that could not actually use it, all for the sake of his son… when Naruto would much rather have his original father still be alive.

Yet even as he reflected on the family he never had, another strange and distant part of his mind finished concluding that if he could not trust his father's judgment, then the main reason to think the enemy was Madara was gone as well. He shook his head to dispel the thought. It was pointless to guess when he had so little information. He needed a clue: A hint, or a weapon, or a witness – something that everyone else might have missed, because it did not fall within the usual pattern of things they would consider…

"The Nine-tails," he heard himself saying, his voice sounding strange to his own ears. "Would it be possible to ask the Nine-tails who was controlling it?"

"That," his godfather said slowly, "is not a bad thought."


	7. Injustice and Inheritance

"He's late." Sakura sounded disbelieving, though perhaps not quite as disbelieving as she had been yesterday, or the day before that. The three of them had been waiting on one of the simple wooden bridges spanning the river running through Konoha since six in the morning, having had to crawl from their beds only half-conscious to make it in time. Two hours later, their teacher still had not arrived.

"It's gotta be a test of some kind," Naruto said at last. "Someone like him is not gonna stop testing us just because we became _genin_. He could be watching with his Sharingan even now, waiting to send us back to the academy if we fail." He looked around nervously, though in truth it was not his teacher who made him anxious. He wanted nothing more than to discuss everything that had happened with Sakura, to talk about the daemon and his parents and the hidden enemy behind it all, but the Fourth Hokage's words kept repeating themselves in his head: _The most important skill for any ninja to possess is the ability to remain hidden. You must not reveal any secrets you uncover without thinking twice and then twice again, or it will be your friends who pay the price for your mistake._

Sasuke shrugged. "Or he just doesn't care. He's a jōnin – he probably has better things to do than train mere genin." He was leaning against the railing with both hands in his pockets, putting on an apathetic air, but the tightening in his muscles showed that the situation was getting to him as well. For the briefest moment Naruto wondered what Sasuke would have to say about it all – whether he would approve of his plan to talk to the Kyūbi or call it madness – but he quickly dismissed the treasonous line of thought.

"He's the one who insisted on meeting this early," Sakura replied with exasperation. Over the past few days, the shine that had appeared in her bright green eyes upon hearing her team announced had been slowly waning. "He can't have forgotten: You don't become a jōnin if you're that careless. You just don't!"

Naruto silently agreed. After that whole speech Kakashi had given on what it meant to be a ninja and how important it was to be prepared, there was no way their teacher was not doing this on purpose. The only question was what he was waiting for them to do. _This is why I hate tests,_ he reflected once again.

"I think I got it," he said at last. "The whole point of the last test was to see if we'd make an actual effort, right? I bet he's doing the same thing now. Like, instead of waiting here we could be training by ourselves. Actually, I guess we should be doing that either way, so it makes sense he'd be waiting to see if we'd realize that." He nodded to himself in satisfaction, though a lingering note of confusion remained.

"Hmph. If he wanted us to train by ourselves, he could've just told us." Sasuke's irritation was plainly visible now, as he turned to face Naruto. "What sort of training did you have in mind?"

Before Naruto could reply, their teacher appeared on top of the railing without making the slightest sound. He waved his hand in a half-hearted gesture, as though he was too lazy even to complete that small movement. "Hey kids. I hope you didn't have to wait too long, I was just-"

"There you are!" Naruto pointed an accusing finger at the man. "Don't bother making up another stupid excuse for being late, Kakashi-sensei. We figured out your test!"

Kakashi's one visible eye widened in mock-surprise. "You have?"

"Yeah, it was to see if we'd start training by ourselves, wasn't it?" The niggling uncertainty was growing stronger by the second, but Naruto was not about to back down now. "Admit it, we passed your test!"

The jōnin threw up his hands. "Who knows? I suppose it does sound like the sort of thing I would do, doesn't it? Anyway, if you're interested in training then I have some exercises in mind that should provide the three of you with a nice, light workout…"

* * *

By the time Naruto stepped through the door to his apartment, the preparations were nearly complete. Jiraiya was putting the finishing touches to a sprawling sealing array upon a parchment that covered the entire floor of the living space, while Jiraiya's shadow clone carefully double-checked everything he did. An expressionless man stood in a corner and watched silently, standing so still he might as well have been carved of wood. He seemed eerily familiar somehow, though Naruto had never seen his face before.

Jiraiya's clone looked up. "Hey kiddo, you're just in time. This here is, ah, Tenzo. He's a friend of Kakashi, and he's got a special technique that can drain the chakra of even the Nine-tails should it get loose. They're here to help in case anything goes wrong."

The wooden man bowed slightly before Naruto, which was an odd experience. That could only mean he knew about his father, Naruto concluded, which meant he must be at least a jōnin in rank – or one of Jiraiya's drinking buddies, he supposed. "Uhm, nice to meet you, I guess. Wait, dad, did you just say…"

A familiar silver-haired man stepped out of the shadows and sauntered up to him. "Heya."

"Oh heck, I only just got rid of you!" Naruto groaned. "What're you doing here, Kakashi-sensei?"

The man, Tenzo, turned to face Kakashi. "Still using the same old approach to teaching recruits, captain?"

"Not really; he's just the type that likes to complain a lot," said Kakashi, who apparently thought nothing of the rigorous training regimen he had been putting Team Seven through. "Naruto, I'm here because my Sharingan is one of the only means capable of casting a genjutsu powerful enough to control the Kyūbi. I'll also be using it to watch and listen in on everything that happens while you're talking to the Nine-tails, and I'll stop the process if anything goes wrong. Unless, of course, you're no longer up for this?"

Naruto shook his head. In any other situation he would have objected to someone invading his mind, but in this case he was grateful for it. As for whether he was up for it… he would be lying if he said he felt confident about the whole ordeal, but he had already made his decision while he was more calm and collected, and there was no good reason to change his mind now just because he had cold feet. Although now that it was actually happening, he could not help but resent his past self a little for making the decision while knowing full well that he would not have to actually do any of it himself.

Jiraiya finished up the last part of his sealing array, and nodded in satisfaction. "Everything's set up. I designed this seal together with the Third, and it should stop any of the Kyūbi's chakra from leaving the circle – though it's not as if it could do much harm to the Village without a host body to control it, anyway. If you're ready, just sit down in the centre, and we'll take care of everything else."

Naruto watched the array of seals wearily. Somehow seeing all of their preparations put in place was only making him _more_ nervous, which made little sense – if the others had not been taking this seriously, that would be far more reason to worry. And yet, he still could not shake this feeling…

"Uhm, shouldn't I be using a shadow clone for this? You know, just in case?"

Jiraiya snorted. "I don't think so, kiddo. The Nine-tails is a being of pure chakra. Splitting yerself in two would just give it another body to try and escape from. Not that we'd let it, mind you."

Naruto nodded. He had been expecting that answer, but it was good to know that the others had thought of it as well. He stepped onto the parchment and gingerly sat down in the central circle, taking care to stay well away from the edges. The wooden man stretched out his arm in Naruto's direction, as though reaching out to him, while Kakashi seated himself opposite Naruto. Between the seals and Kakashi's Sharingan, the chakra-draining technique from Tenzo and Jiraiya himself they had four separate layers of security against the Kyūbi coming out. The only remaining risk that Naruto could think of was if the Kyūbi somehow convinced him to _let_ it out. _So, what should I be doing to stop that from happening?_

Naruto's mind flashed back to a time before the Academy exams, when he had desperately tried to study in the forest, and very briefly met a strange boy clad in green. He swallowed thickly. "Hey… dad?"

Jiraiya looked up. "Yeah?"

"I… I promise you I won't ever let the Kyūbi out. I mean, not unless you tell me I should, or something."

His godfather gave him a long, searching look. "I already know that, kiddo."

Naruto shivered. Somehow, just hearing him say those words infused the promise with power, like the distinct sensation of a ninja technique taking hold. No, he would not be going back on his word.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said. "If there was any chance of this going wrong, we wouldn't let you go through with it. We're just making certain." He lifted the forehead protector that covered his left eye, revealing his crimson Sharingan, and stared him in the eye. It looked exactly like Sasuke's, except that Kakashi's eye had three black swirls surrounding the pupil instead of one. And it might have been Naruto's imagination, but in the dim light of the apartment, he swore he could see it _glow_ ever so faintly.

Naruto took a long, deep breath. "Okay," he said. "I'm ready. I think."

Jiraiya's shadow clone stepped forward, and raised Naruto's shirt until his stomach became visible. A seal had appeared on his skin, an intricate swirling pattern that he had never seen before. Then a blue glow appeared around each of Jiraiya's fingers, and he drove his hand into Naruto's belly and _twisted.._

* * *

Naruto plunged into darkness.

"… _for in the Village there had appeared a mighty daemon fox, a monstrous mass of pure chakra and malevolence that lashed out at all living things without reason or purpose. A monster from storybooks used to frighten children, come into this world and set upon them for their sins…"_

And then the darkness gave way to something else.

* * *

The first thing Naruto noticed was that he was standing in a pool of cool liquid, and the second was the smell of sulphur on the air. Though there was no source of light anywhere to be seen, he could still sense everything around him – as though he were looking with something other than his eyes, and needed no light. He was standing in a massive empty corridor that stretched on forever, and when he looked up he saw that the ceiling was lined with lead piping, like the basement of some monolithic facility.

The liquid was water, he thought, though in the absence of light he could not tell its colour.

He looked up again, and found that there was a titanic gate in front of him, looming out of the darkness where only the empty corridor had stretched before. Thick iron bars went all the way to the ceiling, extending a hundred meters or more before ending in a stone arch. Arcane runes were carved all along the frame of the great gate, and in the centre of it all there was a lock that could not be opened by mere keys: A metal spiral covered in incomprehensible seals.

"Ah... excuse me?" he called out. "Is… is anyone there? H-hello?"

 _-Hello? Hello? Hello?-_

His voice echoed throughout the chamber, traveling past the non-light and into the darkness behind the bars, reflecting off the walls on the other side before coming back to him. As his words died away, at first nothing seemed to happen, but then there was a sound like a single drop of water falling into a vast lake. Soon after there came ripples, small at first but then greater and greater – concentric circles in the liquid pushing past the bars of the gate and edging ever closer towards Naruto's feet.

Just as Naruto was about to decide that this had all been a _mistake_ and he should _leave right now_ , a light arose in the centre of the darkness. Two crimson eyes appeared, with vertical slits like the pupils of a nocturnal animal, burning with such brightness that their image was seared into his eyes. There came a voice then, rumbling like the low roar of an inferno, full of heat and chaos and all the buried power of a dormant volcano. It was how Naruto imagined Fire would sound, if Fire had been given a voice.

" _ **Who goes there, to wake me from my slumber? Who brings the pitter-patter of little feet within the hallways of my mind? Come closer, little one – come hither, so that I may lay my gaze upon you, and see with mine own eyes who would knock upon my door."**_

Unbidden, Naruto's feet took him closer to the gates, and it took him a conscious effort to realize what he was doing and stop himself. By then he was almost close enough to touch the forbidding iron bars, and he had to remind himself that there was no threat – that the Kyūbi could not touch him, that he was being observed even now, and that it was impossible to release the beast even if he wanted to. Still his whole body trembled, shaking like a leaf caught in a forest fire, fearful of the flames yet able to do nothing but pray for a strong wind to carry it far, far away.

" _ **Ahhhhhh... the Fourth Hokage's legacy. I was wondering when you would come. Welcome, child, to my humble domain."**_

"D-domain?" Naruto stared into the great crimson eyes, their shape seeming to flicker like flames.

" _ **Look around you, little one. Where do you think you are? All that you see before you is but a fraction of my true realm, a mere sliver of infinity. All Tailed Ones exist within their own dimension: Mine is the elemental plane of Fire, and you present yourself at the gates for entry, as is only fitting."**_

Naruto shot an uncertain glance around the area. "There's, ah… quite a lot of water for a plane of fire. And, uhm… this being my subconscious seems a lot more likely, than there being other dimensions we can travel to. I – I think you just don't wanna admit that you're imprisoned here."

There wasa long exhalation, like the sound of a great bonfire being fanned by a sharp wind. The burning crimson eyes seemed to regard him narrowly. _**"The ninjas of the Leaf have not neglected their sterling art of diplomacy, I see. What is your purpose here, child? Have you come to supplicate yourself before me? Pay your tributes in a timely fashion, and you will not find me an unkind master."**_

"Ah, no," said Naruto. It took him a moment before he recalled the reason he came to this place. "I thought – I was hoping you could tell me, well first of all: Is it really true that you were created by the Sage of Six paths? Do you know what he was like, and about the secrets of ninjutsu that were lost? And also, I wanna know everything that happened to his civilisation that got us to this point." He and Jiraiya had discussed at length what he should ask the daemon first, and decided that knowledge of their origins might be less urgent, but perhaps ultimately more crucial than even learning who the Enemy truly was.

" _ **How refreshingly enlighten**_ _e_ _ **d; those that seek me out usually ask only to borrow from my infinite chakra like the simpleminded brutes they are – but I see you are a different sort. Very well then, I accept your offer: All the lost lore of the legendary Sage of Six Paths, the true cause behind the collapse of his civilisation, and all other knowledge I acquired since then in exchange for my freedom."**_

"Hold on," Naruto said hurriedly. "I didn't say _that_. I mean, first of all I'd have to make sure you really know all that and you're not just making stuff up. And also, uhm, you kinda killed a lot of people, so I can't let you go just like that…" Naruto flinched as the great crimson eyes bored into him, seeming to push him to his knees with the sheer weight of their condemnation alone.

" _ **You dare lay blame on me for that? I was controlled with genjutsu, as you perfectly well know! For the past thousand years, from the very day I was born your kind has sought to wield me as a tool, to use my power for the sake of their selfish and petty desires… Even your beloved Hokage were no different, sealing me into their loved ones and forcing me to choose between death and a life of slavery!"**_

"I- I didn't… I didn't mean…" Naruto had never even _thought_ about the situation from the Kyūbi's point of view, looking only for ways to use him to his advantage. "I just meant… even if you're not responsible for any of that stuff, you're still the most powerful daemon in the world, it's just common sense that-"

" _ **And what is a daemon, I ask you? Only another word for a spirit that will not bend to your will! Small wonder the frogs and the snakes are all domesticated, with us as an example of what would become of them should they ever refuse you! Your kind forces us to do your ill deeds so you may wash your hands of guilt, and for your moral convenience you define us as evil and call it common sense!"**_

"But I didn't do any of that," Naruto protested. "That was all done by, by my dad, and the First Hokage, and a bunch of other people I never even met. I didn't even know I was your host until a few weeks ago!"

" _ **How very convenient – your predecessors spare you all moral guilt through the simple act of keeping you ignorant, yet you still enjoy every advantage that resulted from their crime. You play your part by declining to think about what was done, assuming the guise of innocence until it is time to commit your own crimes for your children before you die. And if every next generation does the same, none of you need bear any blame for your sins during your lives. Truly, when it comes to absconding moral culpability, your species' ingenuity is unlimited!"**_

Naruto swallowed thickly – the temperature of the air and water seemed to be rising at an alarming rate. "Well I wouldn't do something like that, not even if I thought I was about to die! But I really can't release you: Even if I had the power, the others would never let me go through with it." Kakashi was watching him even now, he remembered faintly. He wondered what his teacher must be thinking about all this.

" _ **Is that your true motivation? Then swear a binding oath here and now that you will do your utmost to rectify this injustice, and together we will find a way to secure my release. I will even reward you for your service with all the knowledge and power I possess. But if you refuse, then declare yourself a villain here and now and spare me the hypocrisy!"**_

"I can't," Naruto whispered, and he had to look at his feet to avoid those accusing crimson eyes. _If for no other reason than that Kakashi-sensei would pull me out immediately, if I started saying something like that._ "I already promised my dad I wouldn't release you without his permission, and he'd never agree to something like that. But, I swear I won't forget about this just because it's convenient! Even if I can't free you, maybe… maybe we can agree to something else?"

" _ **Such as what? All the secrets of the Sage of Six paths in exchange for a bigger cage? Perhaps a game of Go to pass the time while I sit here alone in the dark? For all the power you have over me, I still have my pride to consider… you have nothing to offer me that is worth such a prize except my freedom!"**_

Naruto floundered for words, but found none. He was becoming painfully aware of just how weak a position the Kyūbi was really in – how little his vast destructive ability actually _mattered_. In a world of ninjas who were capable of supernatural feats, where the most important skill to have was the ability to remain hidden, the most powerful daemon in the world really had no power at all.

He felt wretched for even thinking it, but there was still something he needed from the fox, and he had to at least _try_ to bargain for it: "If there's nothing else you care about, then how about a common enemy? What about the one who controlled you twelve years ago, who made you attack the Village and kill all those innocent people – the person the Fourth Hokage called _the one who hides in darkness?_ "

There was a moment of silence, and Naruto wondered if perhaps he should repeat himself, when suddenly there was a sound of kindling being lit, like a bonfire set alight, like a massive forest fire blazing into life all in one instant. Naruto fell backwards into the liquid as a blast of heat scorched his flesh, and even as he cried out in pain the water scalded him further. A massive inferno arose before him, rising up to consume the darkness behind the bars in a roaring blaze of red and orange, and Naruto's heart missed a beat as he realized he wasn't standing before a _cage_ , it was a _furnace_ …

" _ **That man! He who would dare turn me into his pet and discard me at his leisure, with those cursed eyes and chakra more sinister than my own… Release me from this prison, child, and I will freely aid you against him. I will rend his body asunder and burn him, scatter his ashes to the winds and devour his very essence! This I swear upon the aspect of Fire itself!"**_

Naruto pushed himself back up on his scalded arms, trying vainly to calm the beating of his heart, and wondered if having a stroke in this place could kill him after all. "So… you're saying his real identity is Uchiha Madara? Are you sure? Did you see him yourself, did he talk to you, or are you just guessing?"

There was another pause, in which the crimson eyes reappeared within the sea of flames to stare at him. " _ **Do not think yourself so clever, kit… as a rule, clever little children tend to live short and tragic lives. I do not know what manner of tales you were told, but mere genin cannot defeat the likes of Uchiha Madara, if that is indeed who he is. If you ever were to face that man, I will lend you all my chakra and my knowledge as well, but it may do no more than allow you to run and hide as children should, when faced with a true monster. And now, I think it is well past your bed time, little one… You may leave."**_

"Hold on, you can't tell me to leave," Naruto protested. "This is _my_ subconscious."

In response, the fire flickered and intensified – white hot flames appearing like a row of jagged teeth deep within the crimson inferno, forming the image of a vulpine grin. The flames grew brighter and brighter, until the entire world was nothing but eye-searing white light, followed once again by darkness.

* * *

Naruto was back in his apartment, sitting on the floor in the middle of Jiraiya's sealing array. "What? What did..? Did he just..?"

"The Kyūbi chakra was reaching dangerous levels," Kakashi explained. He was holding one hand over his left eye, and there was a tired expression on what little could be seen of his face, as though he had not slept for many days in a row. "I had no choice but to supress the Kyūbi's chakra and pull you out."

Jiraiya was watching Naruto carefully, while the wooden man sat silently in his corner. "What happened? What did you talk about in there? Did you get the answers you needed?"

Naruto exchanged a look with his teacher, and then turned back to his godfather. "He… he wasn't…" He found himself at loss for words. How was he to explain? What were you to say, when a thousand year old being of living fire petitioned you for help? He knew that they would never agree to letting the Nine-tails go, no matter what he told them, not least because Naruto himself did not think it was a smart thing to do. It was hard to be convincing, when the very notion you defended sounded mad in your own ears.

"It was different than expected," Kakashi said at last, and Naruto had to agree that this at least was true.


	8. Economics and Equipment

"Remind me again why we're wasting our time like this?"

Naruto found himself agreeing with Uchiha Sasuke again – something which was fast becoming a dangerous trend. Painting some rich merchant's house did not exactly seem like an especially useful expenditure of their time, especially considering the reason why Naruto needed to become stronger.

 _Contrary to popular belief, I find that battles are usually decided when swords are drawn, not when they are sheathed –_ that was the final piece of advice the Fourth Hokage, his father, had imparted to him. And yet, Naruto found it strangely difficult to keep that thought in the forefront of his mind. Somehow, when he stepped out into Konoha's brilliant sun, working together with his new team to do the most menial of tasks, all his father's warnings of doom and darkness drained away and became a distant, abstract matter, like an alternate reality that was entirely distinct from what was in front of him right here and now.

"It's to support the Village's finances," Sakura explained for the umpteenth time, directing her vexed reply at Naruto even though it had been Sasuke who asked the question. "The budget the Fire Daimyo sets for the Leaf only accounts for about half of our expenses. The rest comes from performing missions for clients such as assassinations or bodyguard duty, or… well, this." She looked at the wall she was painting, clearly having some difficulty believing it herself.

"That still doesn't make any sense," said Naruto, who had also pointed this out many times. "We're _ninja_. Even just one of us is worth about a zillion civilians, when you think about it. I mean, I get that we're only newly trained and it doesn't make much sense to send us on dangerous missions just yet, but come on! There's gotta be something more useful we could do, like training or doing research, or, or _something_!"

In fact, Naruto was doing all of those things even as they spoke, courtesy of the Shadow Clone technique. He had tried using them to finish the missions in their place, but their only reward had been even more missions, so now he was using them to continue their other activities instead. In accordance with Kakashi's test (though he still denied anything of the sort), they had all taken to training together in the mornings hours before their teacher arrived. Sakura would bring books from the library, while Sasuke practiced taijutsu and ninjutsu with them. Naruto had also gotten to sending a Shadow Clone to train with Hinata-chan every morning, who was very slowly improving her skills and gaining ever so slightly more confidence in herself – though she still tended to blush and stammer at seemingly random intervals. And now that Naruto had people to study with other than himself, he was even able to use his shadow clones to read effectively at several times the rate of a normal person – or half a Haruno Sakura.

"It's probably a team building exercise," said Sasuke. "Or it's to teach us humility. The Konoha Council loves to make others waste time on horseshit like that. It lets them pretend they have a reason to exist."

"I guess." That was a pretty solid explanation actually: It was easy to come up with reasonable-sounding justifications for just about anything, but sometimes the correct answer was that it really did just make no sense. "But hey, at least we're getting paid, right? Five thousand ryō per mission is not bad."

"That's five thousand ryō for the whole team," Sakura pointed out. "And Kakashi-sensei gets the biggest share."

"And then there's the expenses and taxes," said Sasuke.

"Yeah, I thought it was a bit rude when they counted out the money right in front of us and then took half of it away," Naruto admitted. "Still, three hundred ryō is not bad. We could use it to, I dunno, all go out to Ichiraku Ramen or something. That could be fun!"

"Actually," said Sakura, "I hear Teuchi-san nearly doubled his prices after he realized most of his customers were genin with wealthy teachers or parents to pay for it. Ordinary genin and civilians don't really go there anymore."

Naruto stared glumly at his paint brush. There really was no justice in the world.

"Hey kids." Kakashi body-flickered besides them, as was his habit – the infamous jōnin had not bothered to show up for any of their D-rank 'missions', of course. "Nearly done? Having fun? Good, good."

Naruto was about to bite out a sharp retort, but his teammate pre-empted him. "Enough of this!" Sasuke whirled on Kakashi, his face showing uncharacteristic anger. "I don't know what you're playing at – whether this is to teach us a moral lesson or if you just enjoy pushing us around, but you know perfectly well why I need to become stronger. Either give us a mission that poses an actual challenge, or we can go to the Council and find out whether my clan's name is really as devoid of meaning as you seem to think."

"Hmmm… we'll see." Kakashi rubbed the chin of his mask, seeming to consider it. "For now, I have a different kind of training in mind, which I think you'll find interesting. Come."

Kakashi sauntered off in the direction of the nearest training area, the rest of Team Seven following closely behind, except for a shadow clone that was left behind to finish their work. "I've decided that the best way to advance your skills right now is to teach you how to cast genjutsu," Kakashi said at length.

"Genjutsu?" Sakura asked, surprised. "But isn't that usually only taught to chūnin and jōnin?"

"Well yes, but that's because it requires a special kind of mental aptitude, not out of any need for large chakra reserves. I've reason to think that you'll fare better than most." He turned around, but continued walking backwards. "For instance, Naruto: You're a ninja. How come you're wearing orange clothes?"

Naruto grinned: He had been hoping someone would ask him that. "I got it from watching other strong ninjas," he explained. "I wondered why ninjas like Jiraiya wear bright clothes, and at first I thought they were just being stupid, but then I realized that if you're a ninja the worst thing you can do is _look_ like one. So since orange is the brightest colour, nobody will imagine I'm secretly a ninja until it's too late!" _There are more places to hide than in the shadows_ , he thought triumphantly.

They arrived at the river, and Kakashi body-flickered across, while Naruto and the others were forced to take the long way around, as they could not jump that far. "I see," he said when they caught up with him. "Well, I have to hand it to you, Naruto: That just might be the single most moronic thing I've ever heard."

"What? Hey!"

"The real reason ninja like Jiraiya wear bright outfits is because they're already too easily recognized. They put on an outlandish getup and an eccentric act to make sure that's all people remember about them, and then the moment they're on a mission they lose the clothes and blend right in. As for wearing orange… the most important part of keeping a secret is hiding the fact that it exists. If you draw too much attention and people start talking about you, then that defeats the entire point. Naruto, you can't just take the first clever idea you think of and run with it. It's not enough to look beneath the surface of a problem: As a ninja, you must look underneath the underneath, and never stop asking yourself _why_."

"I _know_ that," Naruto spluttered indignantly. He had been thinking about it just that morning, but somehow whenever he got excited about something he seemed to forget his lessons entirely. "It's just…"

"No, I'm telling you this because you _don't_ know. You know _of_ it, but that's not the same at all." Kakashi sighed. "Naruto, when you fought against me, your first instinct was to come up with a complicated plan that combined all of your team's abilities. There is a reason I despise that sort of cleverness. There are two types of plans: Those designed to show off how smart you are and those that are designed to actually work – and one of those is substantially less likely to get your team killed than the other. Get it?"

Naruto nodded feebly. There was very little he could say to that.

"Hn. What does any of this have to do with learning genjutsu?" Sasuke asked.

"I was getting to that." They arrived at a row of tall houses, and rather than go around it, Kakashi walked straight up the façade of the nearest wall. Naruto hastily grabbed a nearby trash bin, and cloned it until there were enough to build some makeshift stairs. Meanwhile Sasuke used a kunai with a length of chain attached as a grapple, and scaled the wall vertically. They found their teacher at the rooftop, already leaping to the next roof, and they had to use the body-flicker technique just to keep up.

"The mental aptitude that's needed for genjutsu is the ability to think at multiple levels," Kakashi explained mid-leap. "If you just attack an enemy head-on that's called first level thinking, while second level is if they anticipate your attack and set up a counter in advance. Third level is if you see their counterattack coming and think of a way to prevent it, and so on and so forth. The first rule of strategy is that you should always try to play one level higher than your opponent. The second rule is that everybody always plays at second level, and so should you."

" _Second_ level?" Naruto spluttered, wind whipping through his hair as he struggled to keep up with his teacher's impossibly fast jumps. "But, if everybody _knows_ that, then…"

"Then nothing," Kakashi said as he leaped to the next roof. "It doesn't matter what level other people play at, because cleverness is still going to get you killed. Technically, the real second rule is that you should use the simplest possible strategy that can be made to work, so the worse the situation you're in the cleverer you're allowed to be. But you're not supposed to ever get in a situation like that in the first place, so it amounts to the same thing in practice."

"You mentioned something about genjutsu," Sasuke reminded him. Somehow the Uchiha heir seemed to have no difficulty keeping up with Naruto, despite the massive difference in chakra reserves.

"Yes, yes. It's important that you understand the underlying logic, or there's no point in learning the technique." They stopped at the top of a large building with a trapdoor on the roof, and Kakashi led the way down, still talking as they climbed the rungs of the ladder leading down into a dark corridor. "Now, do you know what the first step is to dispelling a genjutsu?"

"You have to realize you're in one," Sasuke said immediately.

Kakashi gave him a thoughtful look. "Exactly... The way you release a genjutsu is by flaring your chakra – moulding it and burning through it as fast as you're able, purging the hostile chakra from your system. It's not something you can afford to do too often: Depending on your stamina and your chakra control, you could end up burning through your reserves in a matter of seconds… though against a powerful genjutsu user, even that might not be enough. Do any of you know what the two types of genjutsu are?"

Naruto hesitated. "Uhm… it's divided into partial immersion and body-bind techniques, isn't it?"

"That's right." Kakashi reached the end of the ladder, and dropped to the ground without making a sound. "The way genjutsu works is by using your chakra to manipulate the target's chakra flow, allowing you to affect their senses. That yields exactly two viable strategies: You can either try to subtly influence your opponent's perception, forcing them to make a fatal mistake before they realize what's happening, or you can attempt to overwhelm their minds completely and paralyse them using brute force."

Naruto dropped down besides his teacher along with Sasuke, frowning as he tried to make out his surroundings in the darkness. "But, if you can control their senses with it, why not just make it so they can't see your attacks or something? That sounds like it's completely impossible to defend against."

Kakashi shook his head. "The reason partial genjutsu is effective is because it bypasses the target's natural resistance to hostile chakra, by feeding them suggestions that are more or less in line with their expectations, or by pulling visions directly from their subconscious. You can't control what they're seeing directly, unless of course you're using a full body-bind technique, in which case they'll instinctively try to resist you and dispel your technique."

Naruto nodded slowly as he followed his teacher down the dark corridor, his footsteps echoing hollowly. "Okay… I think I get it. So if you flare your chakra but there's no genjutsu, then you've wasted chakra and it could cost you the fight. But if they cast a genjutsu and you _don't_ dispel it, you're probably dead. So you gotta guess what the chance is that you're under a genjutsu, and then make a decision based on how much chakra you've got left compared to the enemy, while also taking into account that your enemy is trying to figure out your logic in order to use it against you… all while in the middle of a lightning-fast battle to the death." Naruto took a deep breath. This might be the one case where a surplus of cleverness and high-level thinking was a _good_ thing. Small wonder Kakashi thought they should learn this early.

Kakashi turned to regard him with his one visible eye. "Well, it doesn't usually get _that_ crazy, unless it's a fight between two genjutsu masters, which almost never happens since those are the rarest and most powerful ninja of them all. But yes, that's the basic idea." He clapped his hands together, seeming to smile. "So! For your first practical lesson: Which one of you can tell me where you really are right now?"

Naruto looked around in puzzlement. He had a dim recollection that the three of them were heading towards a quiet forest glade to train in, but when he flared his chakra the trees and foliage were replaced with a dark stone corridor, and neither Kakashi nor Sakura were anywhere to be seen.

From some distant place, their teacher's echoing voice called out. "Well. When it comes to the first step, detecting genjutsu… how can I put this? You're not very good at it." There was a giggling sound like Sakura laughing, and then the voices vanished, leaving Naruto and Sasuke alone in the darkness and with no clue of where the exit was.

"You know," Sasuke said slowly. "I'm really starting to hate that man."

Naruto found himself agreeing with him once more. It was becoming a very dangerous trend indeed.

* * *

After finally finding their way out of the hidden tunnel network beneath Konoha that Kakashi had dumped them in (and learning an important lesson about the true meaning of friendship and teamwork along the way, or so their teacher insisted), the three genin found themselves reunited once more.

Hatake Kakashi clapped his hands together and beamed at them with his one visible eye. "So, are we all ready and eager to support the Village's finances with our missions once more? I'm glad to hear it!"

After another week of gruelling training and yet more pointless chores (though with slightly more muted grumblings), their teacher sent the three genin to go to the Konoha Armoury. Despite Naruto's protestations, Kakashi had insisted they wear something resembling actual camouflage for their first real mission outside the Village. As for being properly equipped and not getting your team killed by rushing into combat unprepared… well, he had strong opinions about that also.

"This mission will be different from the others," their teacher had warned them. "As Team Seven we are expected not only to follow orders, but also to act on our own initiative. We will have to choose our own objectives and enemies before we can face either. Your training is more important than ever, now."

Sakura had displayed a natural aptitude for Genjutsu, and had taken no small amount of delight in practicing it on Naruto. It turned out that aside from cleverness, casting genjutsu required considerable mental discipline. As a result Naruto's training consisted solely of attempting to dispel Sakura's illusions, including but not limited to an angry swarm of bees that stung him in a thousand places, after which Kakashi had chastised her for going easy on him. And as for Sasuke… well.

Naruto turned to the boy walking besides him. "Hey, Lord Uchiha."

"What is it, dropout?"

"Those creepy red eyes of yours… they can see raw, unfocused chakra, right? Could you see the genjutsu Kakashi-sensei has been casting at you, too?"

"Yeah… like a blue cloud rushing at me. It's almost too fast to track, though."

Naruto nodded to himself. Kakashi-sensei had explained that the Sharingan was capable of projecting powerful single-target genjutsu once it reached its second stage of maturation. Taken together, this meant that Sasuke not only had an easy path to becoming a genjutsu master, but he could also detect any technique cast at him while his Sharingan was active – making it nearly impossible for anyone to gain the upper hand on him that way. Just being able to see the enemy's chakra level alone was incredible.

All of that on top of being talented and handsome, and a wealthy noble beloved by the Village besides.

Meanwhile, all Naruto's parentage had left _him_ was infernal chakra stolen from a burning daemon sealed within his stomach, which might-or-might-not be a malevolent force hell-bent on their destruction but whose power was certainly too dangerous to use either way – and who might well be whispering its deceptions into Naruto's ear while he slept, for all that Jiraiya assured him of the seal's design.

Naruto could not help but feel very slightly bitter about the situation, when he thought about it like that.

They arrived at the entrance to the armoury, and after being checked for illusions they were allowed to enter. Aside from the thick iron bars separating them from the chūnin manning the counter, the place looked much like a store, if a very well-equipped one: Kunai, shuriken, swords and countless more exotic weapons littered the shelves. Armour stands carried armoured jackets as well as the older metal suits worn in the Warring Clans era, racks of sealing scrolls stood next to boxes filled with explosive tags, and a thick steel door in the back offered a tantalizing hint at even greater wonders to be found beyond.

Naruto made a beeline for the explosive tags – seals were the only reliable way to store chakra and thereby convert money into raw power – but recoiled upon seeing the price tag. "Wait, we gotta pay for these ourselves? If we're gonna be risking our lives, I would've thought they'd at least pay for our gear."

Sakura sighed, and put the scroll she had been examining back on the shelf where she found it. "Everything has a price, Naruto. If equipment were free they'd just take it out of our stipend instead, and the effect would be the same – except that a few ninjas would hoard all the equipment and then we wouldn't get anything at all." She paused, putting a finger to her lips. "Although, I suppose I could see the sense in giving a discount to genin of poorer backgrounds, so they can afford more than just the basics…"

Sasuke shot a glance at Naruto. "Doesn't your godfather make money from those infantile books he writes, and from his missions as one of the Legendary Three? Can't you get him to pay for it?"

"I wish," Naruto said glumly. He had actually caught a glance of one of Jiraiya's accounts a while back, and they had gotten into a huge, extended argument about it. Naruto did not understand how someone could throw around so much money on women, gambling and drinks, and still insist that his godson abide by the shinobi rules of prudence and frugality. It was just another thing his family had not left him.

Naruto stared at the expensive explosive tag in his fist: It was crumpled, and they probably would not even let him put it back now. Slowly, an idea started to form in his head. "Hey… hey Sasuke. Lord Uchiha."

Sasuke was staring at an exorbitantly priced chakra-blade displayed in a glass case. "What now?"

" _You've_ got enough money to pay for all three of us. Why don't you buy our equipment for us, and we'll pay you back later, when we're all jōnin or something?"

"What?" Sasuke looked at him incredulously. "I'm not lending you my money. Buy your own shit."

"Why not? You have more than enough. I mean, you're the heir to your clan, so you inherited everything they had, right? You gotta be the richest genin in the entire Village, maybe even the richest _person_."

In a lightning-quick movement, Sasuke grabbed him by the shoulder and dragged him to a quiet corner of the armoury. "You think they actually let me _keep_ all of that? They took more than half of my family's fortune away, stole our ancestral weapons, and rented most of our lands out to the highest bidder. _Expropriation_ , they called it. As if inventing another word for it made it anything other than theft!"

"Oh, so now you're just the _second_ richest person in the Village. Yeah, that sounds terrible." Naruto matched Sasuke's glare with a glower of his own. "What would you even have done with all that land and money that you can't do right now? At least it's doing other people some good this way."

"It doesn't _matter_ what I would have done – the whole point of having money is that it's my choice to make. My family fought all their lives to earn what they had, and they would have wanted me to inherit it; the Third had no right to it!" He forcibly lowered his voice. "And not that it's any of your business, but since you're asking so _nicely_ , I would have used it to eventually restore my clan."

"Okay," Naruto said, trying a different tack. "It's your money and you can choose how to spend it, fine. So you can _choose_ to use some of it to buy us decent equipment, or you can _choose_ to die alone after your teammates get killed in their first real battle because their weapons broke – in which case the Konoha Council will get everything you have and rub their hands in glee as they take all of your precious Uchiha heirlooms." He crossed his arms and stared Sasuke down, giving him time to let the words sink in.

Slowly, very slowly, the tension in Sasuke's muscles drained away. "…I will be expecting you to pay me back at some point," he said at last. "Don't think I'll forget, dropout."

Naruto snorted. "Yeah, I didn't think you would."

The chūnin behind the counter (whose amused expression indicated that their private conversation had been anything but) was only too happy to extend credit to the last of the Uchiha. That just left them with deciding what to buy. Naruto managed to convince Sasuke that they should purchase chakra blades straight away, as it was better to start practicing with them immediately even if they could not yet make use of their chakra-conducting abilities. Sasuke went straight for the chokutō he had been admiring, while Naruto selected a chakra-forged ninjatō. Sakura however refused to be indebted to Sasuke, and bought an ordinary tantō based on the logic that it must be a solid weapon if the Anbu all used it.

The three of them headed back to the training grounds in high-spirits, their steps light despite the weight of their new equipment. Naruto's pockets were filled with all the tools he ever wanted, and Sakura's nervousness at carrying so many weapons and explosives around was offset by her approval of their new and professional black-and-green Konoha fatigues. Even Sasuke seemed to be recovering from his earlier foul mood, his fingers trailing the brand new sword on his belt with an anticipatory gleam in his eyes.

"All right!" Naruto pumped his fist into the air. "We're ready for just about anything now!"

"And just in time, too," Kakashi said as he walked up to them. "I've just been received confirmation of your first C-rank mission. Take care of everything you need to do in the Village and tell your friends goodbye, because we won't be coming back any time soon: We're heading for the Land of Waves."

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's the end of act 1! This was a bit of an "in between" chapter, with the real climax being the chapter where Naruto finally met the Kyubi. There may be a short hiatus as I get the next Act in order. The challenge now is to make sure that the next arc is as interesting and original as possible, given that of course the Waves Arc has been done quite a few times before. But if you liked what you've seen so far, then it should be fine... right?

Do let me know what you all thought of the first Act! Feedback in every form is always welcome!


	9. Learning from the Past

The client turned out to be a grey-haired and bespectacled man with a constant look of annoyance on his face, neatly matched by the constant bottle of liquor in his hand. He wore a brown V-neck shirt with an obi tied around his waist, as well as a conical hat and a towel around his neck to protect him from the Land of Fire's beating sun.

"I am the great bridge builder Tazuna," he said by means of introduction. "I expect the lot of you to provide me the greatest possible protection while I work on completing my bridge in the Land of Waves."

As the five of them headed towards the Village gates, the client explained his situation to the group. It turned out that the Land of Waves was a small island near the Land of Fire, supposedly famed for its many rivers and mangroves, and that the bridge was meant to connect the isle to the mainland.

"The Land of Waves doesn't have ninja and we're not wealthy like your country," the old man said in grumbling tones. "We managed well enough trading by ship back in the day, but now a ruthless bandit lord has taken over our ships, and he's bleeding us dry. That's why we need my great bridge to bring trade back to our country."

Kakashi finished the explanation for him while handling the paperwork at the chūnin guard post. "It seems parts of the bridge have already fallen apart for no discernible reason, and Tazuna suspects this bandit lord is behind it. So as Team Seven, it's our job to protect him and figure out what's going on."

Tazuna took a swig from his bottle, and wiped his mouth with his sleeve. "Yeah... that's about it."

Naruto barely heard the explanation over the sound of his own humming, as he stepped through the open gates and crossed the village boundaries, a broad grin plastered on his face. He took a deep breath, taking in the forest scents of pine trees and damp leaves. Before him stood the wide open world, filled with wonder and adventure. The sun was hot, but a light breeze served to cool him down… everything was perfect. He stretched his arms into the air and proclaimed his excitement to the world.

"Alright! Let's do this!"

Sakura raised a bemused eyebrow. "What are you so excited about?"

He grinned at her. "It's just that… I've never been outside of Konoha before! I can't wait to see what the rest of the world looks like." Naruto would have explored the outside world a long time ago, or at least sent a shadow clone to go scout out the country as far as he could, but leaving the Village without permission was strictly forbidden to any ninja, and would immediately mark him as a deserter.

She smiled at him. "I suppose it is nice to get out of the Village. At least my parents won't be telling me what to do for once. In a way, it's almost as if we're independent adults already."

The old bridge builder looked at the two of them apprehensively, before turning to Kakashi. "Hey… will I really be safe with these kids?"

"You'll be fine," Kakashi assured him. "Don't worry: I'm a jōnin and I'll be protecting you myself. Besides, Sasuke is from the Leaf's strongest clan, and Sakura was the brightest pupil at the academy."

"The Leaf's strongest clan?" The bridge builder shot an uncertain glance towards the brooding Uchiha heir, who was slouching with both hands in his pockets. "You don't mean… that tragic clan of legend?"

"The very one," Kakashi said, and Sakura nodded solemnly along with him.

"Yeah," said Naruto with a roll of his eyes. "And I'm the last scion of the Uzumaki, a clan of powerful ninja-cooks famous for their advanced ramen techniques. They built their Hidden Village inside of a giant whirlpool because they figured it was the last place anyone would look, which seemed like a really neat idea until one day the entire Village disappeared in a mysterious, whirlpool-related incident."

The bridge builder turned back to the others. "Is any of that actually true?"

"Not even remotely," Sakura said with a note of irritation. "The Uzumaki were a ninja clan famed for their prowess with sealing techniques. They were destroyed by their enemies because they spent all their time pouring over ancient scrolls and doing research instead of training an army to defend themselves." She paused, a thoughtful expression forming on her face.

Hearing his family's fate described like that gave Naruto pause too, but for entirely different reasons. _The world's greatest seal-using clan was wiped out one year before the attack on Konoha, making the Fourth Hokage the only one who could still seal the Kyūbi… there's just no way that's a coincidence, is there?_

Sakura shook her head and continued. "Anyway, there are still plenty of Uzumaki refugees scattered around the world; Naruto just doesn't bother to keep in touch with his cousins, that's all."

Kakashi looked at the two of them, and shrugged. "Well, we're not going to get to the Land of Waves by talking about it. Let's go." He strode forwards, and Sakura, Sasuke and Tazuna followed close behind.

Naruto stared at them in horror and dismay. "What… what are you _doing_?"

Kakashi raised an inquisitive eyebrow. "…walking?"

"I thought so, but I was gonna give you the benefit of the doubt. _Why_ are we walking?" Naruto looked to his team-mates for help, but they only gave him blank stares in reply. "We're ninjas! We don't _walk_ places. We run at top speed, or leap from one tree branch to the next. Sometimes we get carried on the backs of giant spirit animals, if Jiraiya is around. _Ninjas don't walk."_

The bridge builder turned to glower at him. "I hate to burst your bubble, kid, but I'm not a bloody ninja. I can't do any of that tree leaping rubbish, and my back aches enough when I walk, never mind running."

Naruto groaned. "Seriously? You guys are planning to _walk_ all the way to the Land of Waves? Do you have any idea how long that would take?"

Sasuke turned to their teacher, speaking up for the first time since they departed. "The moron does have a point. I can think of better ways to spend my time."

Kakashi shrugged. "Yes, well… unless one of you has another means of transport available, walking it is."

"Aha!" Naruto cried triumphantly, reaching for the scroll on his back. "I was waiting for you to say that. See, I've got a storage scroll here that my dad taught me how to use." He spread the scroll out onto the ground, revealing a meter-wide parchment covered in incomprehensible scribbles, with an empty circle in the centre. "Just stand in the middle, old man, and I'll activate the technique. It might be a bit cramped in there, but as long as you're in the scroll we can carry you while running at full speed!"

Tazuna stared at the parchment. "The kid's not serious about putting me inside that scroll, is he?"

"He _can't_ put you in the scroll," Sakura assured him. "The storage seal is a space-time technique which transports an item to a dimension where time does not flow. It doesn't work on people, and even if it did it would almost certainly kill them."

"Not a problem," Naruto said confidently. "How cool would his body need to be, _exactly_ , before he'd no longer count as a person but as an object?"

In reply, Sakura gave a sharp rap on the top of his head with her knuckles. "Naruto, no! You're not killing our client and putting him inside a scroll."

Sasuke placed a hand on her arm and gave her an admonishing look. "Sakura, we've been over this. You mustn't hit Naruto; it's not good for his emotional development." She laughed bashfully in reply.

Naruto rubbed his head, which throbbed painfully. "Go fall on a wakizashi, Uchiha."

The bridge builder turned to their jōnin sensei for support. "Ah, is this… normal?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, ninjas can get quite morbid. It probably has something to do with the fact that we've been trained from birth to kill people." Kakashi gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. "Not to worry, I promise that nobody's going to kill you and put you in a scroll as long as you pay us to keep you alive."

"Fine then, no scrolls," said Naruto, who was not so easily defeated. He formed the seals for the Shadow Clone technique, and immediately a fresh batch of Naruto's spawned and ran back the way they came. "I've got other ideas. What if I carried you on my back? "

"I don't think so," said Tazuna, in a tone that made it quite clear what he expected from the other ideas.

Right when the mind-numbing tedium of putting one foot down in front of the other was about to completely overwhelm what remained of Naruto's crumbling sanity, he saw movement on the road behind them. A group of identical figures were pulling what appeared to be a wagon. Relief washed over him when one of the clones dispelled itself and the memories of his actions returned to him.

Kakashi turned as the clones rushed in and parked the cart in front of the group. "What now?"

"It's a cart," Naruto explained. "Since we're out of spirit animals, my shadow clones are gonna pull it while the old man sits on it, and together we'll hopefully move a little bit faster than a snail's pace."

Kakashi frowned. "Where did you get this?"

"From the Village, which you may have noticed is still _right over there_." He pointed towards the Village perimeter walls which were still plainly within sight. "I bought it from a merchant, at the price of approximately one millionth of a chakra sword." He turned to the bridge builder, and gestured over his shoulder with his thumb. "Now get on the stupid cart and let's _go_ already."

* * *

The group travelled all the way through the Land of Fire until they neared the coastline. By the time the sun started to go down even Naruto's prodigious stamina had run out, and so they settled down for the night. Naruto pulled out the tents from his giant scroll, followed by a complete set of camping supplies, and the rest of the company bore increasingly incredulous expressions as Naruto's clones set up an entire encampment right in front of their eyes. Naruto was right in the process of setting up a defensive perimeter complete with spikes and caltrops when his teacher finally stopped him.

"Naruto, I appreciate you taking security seriously, but you know we're not actually at war, right?"

Naruto shrugged, too tired to argue. "There's always bandits and rogue ninja around, and this wouldn't be the first time a war started with a surprise attack on traveling shinobi… but hey, you're the captain."

"Honestly, I kind of like it," Sakura admitted with a sly smile. "At least we get to travel in comfort. Now instead of having to eat military rations, we get to sup on a warm meal of…" She picked out a random item from Naruto's supply scroll, and her brow instantly furrowed. "…ramen? Seriously? You can bring any hot meal you like in those scrolls and you bring ramen?"

"What? I _like_ ramen," Naruto said. "Just because I _can_ store a cooked meal doesn't mean I've got to. Otherwise having more freedom would give me fewer options, and that's just silly."

Sasuke shook his head, visibly torn between being amused and angry. "And this is where my money has been going to? You had better repay your debt at some point, dropout, because I'm not paying for this."

Their teacher shut that argument down before it could begin, and soon enough they were sitting around a small campfire, courtesy of Sasuke's fire technique. The sun was well and truly gone now, leaving the surrounding forest pitch black except for the pale light of the waning moon above. Though it was impossible to make anything out in the darkness beneath the forest canopy, the sounds of nocturnal animals scurrying about reminded them they were not quite alone. The bridge builder looked increasingly ill at ease, and after dining on a meal of cooked rice and chicken – ramen having been voted out – Tazuna excused himself and went to sleep. That just left the four ninja.

Kakashi rubbed his hands in front of the fire, his masked face illuminated by the orange glow. A small flame dancing in his one visible eye lent him an aura of mystery. "Well, now that we're all warm and cosy, I figure it's time for me to tell you all a little story. After all, that's what captains do, when they're on a mission away from home with their adorable little students..."

"Oh, a story!" Naruto's excitement rose and just as quickly gave way to suspicion. "Wait, this isn't gonna be one of those inspirational stories, about heroism and teamwork, is it? Iruka-sensei used to tell us those back in the Academy to motivate us or something, and they were always boring and predictable."

"Hmm, not quite. Rather, this is the story of how I lost my comrades on a mission, and how I acquired this eye of mine." He tapped the forehead protector that covered his Sharingan for emphasis.

It was subtle, but it was there: Sasuke rose up ever so slightly, his eyes opening a fraction wider as some of his weariness was replaced with anticipation. Sakura, meanwhile, hugged her knees close to the fire and looked as attentive as always. Even Naruto stopped fidgeting as he realized who would be featuring in that story. All three of them were listening closely, though for entirely different reasons.

Satisfied that he held a captive audience, Kakashi raised his masked chin theatrically. "Now, where should I start? Ah yes: It was the day I was promoted to jōnin, back when I was a member of team Seven under Namikaze Minato, during the Third Great Ninja War right before everything went wrong…"

* * *

"…for I was a lot more bent on the rules those days, you see, and it drove Obito absolutely up the walls. I would chastise him for acting nothing like the stoic Uchiha of legend, and he would complain that I must have bribed the examiners for me to have ever gotten promoted to jōnin. I didn't really think about it at the time, but it's amazing that Rin put up with it for as long as she did before finally blowing up on us. The two of us didn't dare say anything to each other for a full week." Kakashi-sensei stared into the crackling fire, seeming to smile wistfully, though the mask made it awfully hard to tell. "Anyway, Minato-sensei had no choice but to put us and Rin into a three-man cell after that, for the casualties of that War had left the Leaf's military more depleted than ever, and so we continued the mission without him."

Naruto gingerly held up his hand. "Excuse me? Kakashi-sensei?"

His teacher looked up, momentarily shaken from his reverie. "Yes? What is it?"

"I didn't want to interrupt your story so I was gonna wait until you finished speaking–" This earned him an encouraging smile from Sakura and a condescending pat on the back from Sasuke. Naruto glared at them both before continuing. "–but you're saying the mission was to attack a bridge?"

"That's right."

Naruto paused a moment, then continued when no explanation was forthcoming. "Ninjas can walk on water," he supplied helpfully.

Kakashi shrugged. "Civilians can't. Supply wagons can't. And you'd be surprised to learn how many ninja never master the skill, especially in dry countries like the land of Rock. It takes quite a bit of practice and decent chakra control to learn, and most never considered it a high priority. You see, when you're living in times of war, all your effort is focussed on preparing for the next battle and surviving the next mission, and learning the wrong technique can be fatal. That's why almost all our skills are focussed on combat."

Naruto gave him a dubious look, and gestured at their camp. "Ninjas can also store things in scrolls."

"Ah, but that skill is even harder to come by. The Hidden Stone couldn't exactly afford to have their jōnin spend all their time storing supplies in scrolls for less skilled ninja to use, not when there was a war going on." Kakashi shrugged. "But you're not entirely wrong. The Council members, the ones directing the war effort on both sides, sometimes forget the distinction between fighting a war and playing at fighting one. They employ elaborate strategies they learned from the last war, not because it offers the best chance of winning but because admitting ignorance would invalidate their position as directors of the army."

The three genin stared at him in bewilderment, shocked at hearing him state the truth so plainly, but Kakashi only seemed to smile at them from behind his mask. "So, as I was saying. We were supposed to attack the bridge, but as it turned out, we were attacked before we could even reach it…"

* * *

"Rin was gone: A rock ninja must have taken her while we were fighting the others, and I'd been so occupied with my own duel that I never even noticed." Kakashi's fists clenched, the burned remains of the fire casting his hands in an orange glow. "Obito wanted to go after her right away, but I pointed out that Minato-sensei could just teleport to her when he returned. I tried to argue that they'd only want to use her medical skills to heal the wounded, but he would hear none of it. In the end, he turned his back on me, and gave me a choice: Either I could come with him, or he would go to save her alone."

The three of them sat there, waiting long seconds for their teacher to continue speaking. Finally, Naruto could restrain himself no longer. "So what happened then, sensei? Did you go with him to save Rin?"

"Hm?" Kakashi looked at him as though in surprise. "What do you think? You already know that both Rin and Obito died, and I received my Sharingan that day. It should be easy enough for you to figure out..."

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly, still staring into the fire. "Obviously, the fact that Uchiha Obito died means that you couldn't convince him to stay with you. Since you alone survived you must have waited for the Fourth, but by the time he arrived the others were already dead. Most likely, Obito awakened the Sharingan right before his death, and Namikaze took one of them for himself and implanted the other into you for your secrecy. Although, I've never heard of the Fourth Hokage having a Sharingan…" He paused, reflecting. "Hn. He must have sold the other one then, when he realized that the Uchiha clan would never allow him to keep it. Meanwhile you kept yours secret behind that eye patch, until secrecy proved… no longer necessary." His countenance darkened, then, as he spoke those last words.

"That's a very logical analysis," Kakashi allowed. "So, what do you think I did wrong, then?"

The Uchiha heir seemed to give it some thought. "Your original plan was sound; the problem was that you couldn't get your subordinate to go along with it. You could have used genjutsu to plant a suggestion in his head, or even just knocked him out from behind." He nodded to himself, as if affirming the answer.

Naruto looked from one to the other in disbelief. "Oh come on! There's no way you just waited around while your friends _died_ , Kakashi-sensei. You can't just stop the story there and act like any of that crap actually happened. How did it really end?"

His teacher shrugged. "Most battles are decided by the time swords are drawn, not when they are sheathed. It's easy to listen to how a story ends and imagine yourself wise after the fact, but if you can't predict what would've happened in advance, then your decisions wouldn't have been any better than mine." He turned to the last member of the team. "What do you think, Sakura?"

She looked up in surprise, as though she had not expected to be called upon. "Ah, let me think." She knit her brow in consternation. "Assuming there wasn't anything unexpected like another ambush, you either waited for your teacher while Obito left by himself, or you fought together but they died before the Fourth could save you. The fact that Rin and Obito died makes the former seem more likely, since Obito wouldn't have stood a chance without you. I suppose your survival is more likely if you waited, but then you wouldn't be here to tell the story if you'd died." She frowned again. "Having a Sharingan implies that you went to help Obito, but then you could also have implanted it afterwards…"

By the time she trailed off Kakashi was looking at her with both eyebrows raised. "Well. I wasn't expecting that answer. More importantly, what do you think I should have done?"

She shifted uncomfortably. "To be honest, I think the problem was that you had poor team relations to begin with. If you had worked out your differences beforehand, you would have been better able to come up with a solution. The way your team functioned, I think that something like this would have happened sooner or later, regardless…"

He gave her one more measured gaze, then stood up and stretched. "I see, that does sound like good advice. Thank you Sakura." He turned around and looked up at the night sky, which was now filled with stars. "Well, it's getting late. We'd best get tucked in so we have a good night's rest before tomorrow."

"Wait, you can't just…" Naruto opened his mouth in protest, shut it angrily, and then opened it once more. "Do you wanna know what _I_ think is wrong with your stupid unfinished story? What's wrong is that a bunch of kids with knives were trying to destroy a stupid bridge in the first place! What's wrong is that you had a teacher who could _teleport_ , and you _still_ managed to get separated! Why… how come we've got a thousand different techniques for killing people, but we don't have any to talk over long distances?" He clenched his hands into fists, staring hard at his lap. _Iruka-sensei wouldn't be in the hospital if we did, and Mizuki-sensei wouldn't be in some dungeon getting tortured by the Anbu._ "And why… above all, why's there even such a thing as war in the first place?"

Nobody said anything for a while, as Naruto's breathing slowly returned to a more normal rate.

At last, his back still turned to him, Kakashi spoke once more. "An interesting reply – it's quite similar, in fact, to the answer Minato-sensei gave me, when I asked him the same question." As he turned towards the fire again, there was an odd gleam in his one visible eye. "His solution was to become Hokage and change things from within. He laboured for two years, sacrificing his life and happiness, and even now I don't know if he considered it worth it." Kakashi kneeled down and placed both hands next to the fire. A moment later the entire campfire sunk into the ground, swallowed whole by the dry soil until not a trace of it remained. Their only light source gone, their teacher was left as little more than a black outline against the stars. "Trying to change other people's minds is not easy, Naruto. It's even harder than changing your own. If you choose that path, you're going to have a very frustrating life ahead of you."

As their teacher made to leave, it was Sakura who spoke up, one last time. "Wait, Kakashi-sensei. You asked all of us what you could have done better, but what do _you_ think you should have done?"

"What do I think I did wrong?" Kakashi somehow managed to make it sound as if he had never thought about it before, and this was the first he heard of it. "Why, I shouldn't have let my friends die, of course."

He gave a jaunty wave, and then he sauntered off towards his tent. "Good night, children."

* * *

 **A/N** : Sorry for the delay, everyone. I got some new beta readers, and spent a lot of time dithering on what to do with the chapter. I ended up shortening it by about 3 pages because I felt Kakashi's backstory was not sufficiently different from canon (an issue which has been rightly pointed out by some of the reviewers) to include it in full, but I think the end result is better for it. Anyway, the story should be going back to weekly updates now. Leave a review and let me know if you enjoyed the chapter!


	10. When Swords are Drawn

The bridge builder turned out to have arranged transport in the form of a small wooden ayubune that lay waiting for them. After gliding over the dark and misty waters for an indeterminate length of time, the surly looking rower turned to where Tazuna reclined against the edge of the boat, and adjusted his broad-brimmed hat. "We'll be there soon, Tazuna-san. It looks like we've avoided detection for now, but I'll take us towards the route with the thickest vegetation, just in case."

Kakashi turned to Tazuna, frowning with one eyebrow. "This is a bit much just to evade bandits, isn't it?"

"Pwah, easy for you to say." The old bridge builder glowered at his bottle, which had run dry some time ago. He made to toss it over his shoulder, but after a moment's hesitation carefully lowered it into the water instead. "We don't have mystical ninja abilities like you do. Bandits can kill us just fine."

The group continued their passage in silence, with only the dip of the rower's oar into and out of the water working to break the quiet. Finally Tazuna's great bridge loomed up before them, towering over the boat and diminishing them with its shadow. It was made of massive stone blocks like Konoha's more modern buildings, and above all its sheer size was beyond anything Naruto had ever seen.

"Amazing…" he whispered.

After they passed underneath the great bridge they came upon a hidden channel flowing out into the coast, one so narrow that their boat brushed against the foliage growing on either side, and they had to duck their heads low to pass underneath the overhanging branches. The mouth of the straight opened up into a great bay, filled with ancient mangroves and nearly enclosed by a town that was shaped like a crescent moon. Endless wooden scaffolding stretched out before them, seeming to merge with the buildings' floors and walkways, so that Naruto could not help but wonder if perhaps the entire village rested upon the timber platform, raised above the water by its countless supporting posts.

After they disembarked at the nearest pier, the rower gave the group a last brief nod before setting off into the mist once more. "This is it for me. Goodbye and good luck."

"Yeah…" Tazuna gave the man a wry smile. "Many thanks."

Tazuna's house turned out to be one of the most impressive buildings in the village, situated close to the market square yet with a clear view of the bay. It was a large two-story building made of wooden planks, with a thatched roof supported by formidable timber pillars on all sides, and actual glass windows.

"Just you wait 'till you get a taste of my daughter's cooking," Tazuna said proudly as they walked along the walkway leading up to the house. "You won't ever want to leave, I promise you that!"

"Something's wrong," Kakashi said after taking one look at the hastily constructed wooden panelling keeping the front door together. "People have forced their way in recently – at least two men with swords, by the looks of it."

No sooner did he finish speaking or Tazuna rushed towards the entrance, throwing the door open with such force that it fell into pieces behind him. "Tsunami!" he called. "Tsunami, are you all right?"

"Father!" A young woman with long black hair appeared in the doorway, wearing a blue skirt and a short-sleeved pink shirt with red trims. Her left eye sported a dark bruise, though it was old enough that it was already starting to fade. "They came again, father, while you were away. I told them you fled the country, but they wouldn't believe me! They cut apart all the furniture, and they said that if you ever came back they would…" She trailed off as she seemed to notice Team Seven for the first time. "Who..?"

"They're the ninjas from Konoha I hired," Tazuna said as he pushed his way past his daughter. "Where's Inari? Where is my grandson?"

"He's upstairs. He's unhurt, but he refuses to come out of his room." The woman turned and bowed before the ninjas, far lower than Naruto could remember anyone ever bowing to him. "Welcome to our home, most honoured and noble guests. I humbly apologize for the lowly state you find us in."

Naruto's team allowed themselves to be led into the building, stepping over the broken door only to find the bridge builder cursing over a heap of broken furniture piled in a corner of the living room. "Look at this! Look what the bastards did to my house! Mindless savages! Criminal scum!"

Kakashi pulled a broken table leg from the pile and inspected it with his one visible eye. The wood was cut clean down the middle, without so much as a single splinter sticking out. "No ordinary sword could achieve this level of sharpness," he said. "This was cut with a weapon using chakra-flow."

"They got my drinks cabinet too," Tazuna continued. "Bloody bastards. But I bet they didn't know about this spot…" Tazuna lifted up one of the floor mats, and with one hand he drew forth a bottle of dark liquor. "Hah! I used to hide my collection here from my old lady, but it looks like it fools low-life thugs too. Tsunami, go and get some glasses for our guests, will you? A stiff drink to calm our nerves, that's what we need right now…"

"Tazuna, you lied to us," Kakashi said. "You said your country was beset by bandits, but this was done by Samurai – trained warriors capable of manipulating chakra."

"I never lied!" Tazuna twisted around, his face contorted with anger as he pointed his bottle at Kakashi. "Gato _is_ a bandit! He's nothing but a two-bit thug!"

"Gato?" Kakashi seemed almost shocked, if such a thing was even possible. "You hired us to fight _Gato_ of all people?"

Naruto was completely lost at this point, and turned to Sakura for help. "Uhm… who's this Gato they're talking about?"

"You don't know? He's one of the Land of Fire's biggest businessmen, and one of the few truly powerful civilians out there. He owns one of the largest shipping companies, Gato-company, in addition to providing countless other goods and services."

"He's a thug!" Tazuna said again, brandishing his bottle like a weapon as he spoke. "He bullies and threatens people into obedience, bribes anyone he's able to and sends his henchmen after everyone else. He's a beady-eyed low-life criminal who tries to steal everything in sight, and now he wants the Land of Waves for himself. But he won't have it! Now that you're here, we'll finally be able to fight back."

"It doesn't work that way," Kakashi said. "It doesn't matter what you think he's done; in the eyes of the law he's a businessman like any other. If you have evidence that he's behind these attacks you should take it to your local officials, not us: Konoha's shinobi are not your personal police force."

"Wait," said Naruto. "I don't get it. This Gato is only a civilian, right? If he's really all that bad, he must've made a lot of enemies. And the Land of Fire has a Village full of ninjas, and all the other great countries do too. So, uhm… Why hasn't somebody killed him by now?" He'd wondered the same thing about the Land of Fire's Daimyo, as well: Why did all those ninjas even bother to listen to ordinary humans, when it would be so easy to take power by force?

The bridge-builder glared at him, his grey eyes narrow and fierce behind his spectacles. "Because he greases Konoha's palms with blood money, that's why! As long as he keeps money flowing in the right direction nobody important _wants_ him dead, and he can just hire ninjas and samurai to kill everyone else who gets in his way." At that moment Tsunami came in carrying glasses on a plate, but she was too late to stop the bottle from reaching Tazuna's mouth. He drank deeply, and when he lowered it again his voice was thicker than before. "That's what you ninja don't get… it doesn't matter how strong or weak you are as an individual, all that matters is whether you can get other people to listen to you. If you don't have that, you're nothing." He smiled bitterly, then: The thought seemed to amuse him, somehow.

"The Land of Fire does have a few corrupt officials," Kakashi allowed. "And it's true we don't do as much to protect civilians as we could, but the fact remains that you mislead us. You hired us to protect you from bandits, but if Gato really is trying to take over the land of Waves then he's not going to stop at thugs and samurai: He'll send ninjas after you. That makes protecting you a B-Rank mission, at the least. If you wanted that level of protection you should have paid for a team of chūnin or jōnin instead of hiring recently graduated academy students. I'm not going to risk my students' lives on your account."

"Do we look like we've got that kinda money?" Tazuna waved his bottle around to indicate the house and the village all around them, the dark liquid inside sloshing dangerously as he did so. "We're a poor village, living of fishing and trade, and now we don't even have that… We'd raise our own ninja if we could, but you Konoha bastards won't even let us do that!" He took another swig from his drink, and slammed it down onto the floor for emphasis, though the lack of table diminished the effect.

"Hold on," said Naruto. "So ninja Villages like Konoha have total military control, and they use that to become rich by selling our services as mercenaries and assassins to the highest bidder. Ninjas don't want to waste their time on boring stuff, so they let the Daimyo and politicians run their countries for them, who in turn allow people like Gato to oppress and extort the civilians for them without any of it being seen as their fault… And all the while Konoha's leaders try to distract us from what's really going on by talking about the Will of Fire and putting an end to all the darkness in the world?"

"Ah…" said Kakashi. "Well, I wouldn't put it quite like that…"

A wicked grin split across Tazuna's rosy face. "Hah, I'm starting to like this brat! He tells it like it is."

"It doesn't matter," a young voice said behind them. "All these nice-sounding words about right and wrong don't make a bit of difference – the only thing that matters is who's stronger. You ninjas should leave while you can; ideals are useless if you're dead."

Naruto turned to confront this newcomer, only to find a boy of ten standing at the bottom of the stairs. The childishness presented by his baggy white hat and green pants with braces stood in stark contrast to the cynicism in his eyes, Naruto thought. "Huh? Who are you?"

Tazuna perked up. "Oh! Everyone, I want you to meet my grandson, Inari. Inari, say hello to these nice people: They're going to help us defeat Gato."

"No they won't." The boy briefly greeted his grandfather with a hug before returning his attention to the group, focusing his dark eyes on Naruto. "You can't win against someone like Gato. Fighting someone stronger than you isn't brave, it's stupid. If you try to be a hero, you'll only get yourself killed."

Naruto spluttered loudly. "What kinda attitude is _that_? You're just saying you don't wanna try to make things better, and being snotty about it. That's not even a belief, that's just giving up!"

"Naruto, you idiot!" Sakura scolded him. "Why are you getting into an argument with a child? Can't you tell that he lost someone important to him? He's probably just scared that the same will happen to the rest of us, too."

The boy paled at those words, and on the instant he turned and fled, his footsteps going up the wooden stairs with increasing pace and diminishing volume.

"Inari, wait!" Tazuna made to go after the boy but stumbled over the bottle of liquor, and fell flat on the floor with a resounding crash. He vainly grabbed for the flask, but the dark liquid was already pouring over the floorboards and vanishing down the cracks. "Damn it! Damn it… damn it all…"

Tsunami rushed to his side, a towel already in hand. "It's all right, father. I will clean it up. It's all right…"

Kakashi-sensei regarded the scene with a pensive expression on what little could be seen of his face. He looked at Naruto and the rest of the team for a quiet moment, and finally turned back with a sigh. "Excuse me, miss Tsunami," he said. "Do you have someplace quiet where my team can talk in private?"

She nodded, and pointed at the storage room at the back of the house. "You can use our oshiire. It's not very large, but…"

"It's fine," he said, as he led his team through the wooden door. The storage room was really not small by any objective measure, but filled as it was with beds and broken furniture, it still felt quite cramped. Kakashi slid the door shut behind them, and the room was cast into total darkness.

"Uhm," said Naruto. "Could use a little light, here?"

"We are now officially on a B-rank mission, being in foreign territory with the possibility of going up against enemy ninja," his teacher said gravely. "Protocol dictates that in such a situation, secrecy must be maintained, which means no light and only discussing sensitive material in whispers. It's not _likely_ that the enemy has access to a technique like the Byakugan which allows them to observe us from afar, but a ninja should never take unnecessary risks. That is also a shinobi rule."

Naruto dimly recalled learning in the academy about the importance of keeping your voice down when discussing plans, as an enemy ninja could otherwise listen in simply by focusing chakra to their ears. He shifted uncomfortably. "Okay, yeah, that makes sense and all, but… it also would be kinda nice to be able to see something? I mean, I don't wanna complain, but…"

It was silent for a moment as Naruto trailed off, and in the pitch-black darkness it was all too easy to imagine that everyone had disappeared and he was alone in the room. Finally, Sasuke's incredulous voice came from out of the blackness. "You're afraid of the dark," he said in disbelief. "I am actually teamed up with a ninja who is _afraid of the dark_."

"I'm not _afraid_ of the dark," Naruto protested. "I just don't _like_ it."

There was a weary sigh, and then a light appeared in their midst, revealing the faces of the four ninja amongst the shadows. Kakashi had drawn forth a candle from somewhere, which he placed upon one of the low square tables that were stored there. The team huddled closely around it, kneeling at all four sides of the table as though they were preparing for supper instead of discussing a dangerous mission.

"The situation has changed." Their sensei leaned over intently, eyeing each of the genin in turn. "We are no longer bound by the stipulations of our mission, and so we need to re-evaluate our plans. As members of team seven, I want to hear what you think we should do next."

* * *

Deep within a forest, hidden amidst the perpetual shadows of great evergreens, the windows of an old abandoned tower shone with light once more.

The stone and timber structure was a remnant of forgotten times, its original purpose long forgotten. None now knew for what reason long filaments stretched from the trees to the roof of the tower and back again, as though it were at the centre of a great spider's web. But if the spirits of that elder structure disapproved of its current use, none dared voice their discontent, for the new master of that grim place brooked no dissent.

"I want him dead! I want you to take care of him yourself, do you hear me?"

In a wide and open stone chamber, standing on a floor made of shattered crimson rocks, a small and whiskered man in dark formal attire was shouting angrily. His diminutive stature contrasted sharply with that of his heavyset bodyguards, as well as by the tall stone pillars and archways of the place, but it was emphasized further still by his overly loud and shrill demeanour. Zabuza half-suspected that he was doing it on purpose, though to what end he could not guess: They both knew that Zabuza could kill the civilian in an instant, so pretending to either strength or weakness seemed pointless to him.

"What, are you talking about that bridge builder again? Didn't you send people to kill him already?" Zabuza idly picked his ear with one finger and brought the excavated contents up for his inspection, ignoring the disgusted look the smaller man gave him. "Why not just blow up that bridge of his and be done with it?"

"I did! I sabotaged his bridge three times. He just keeps repairing it!" The small man, Gato, began pacing across the room with manic energy. "I threaten his family, I kill his son-in-law, and it just makes him work harder. The stubborn bastard doesn't stop, and what's more he's making those primitive villagers think he can do it, too. His bridge doesn't even matter at this point… he's making me look _weak_."

 _You are._ Zabuza shrugged, though it might have looked as though he was just trying to get more comfortable on his grey leather couch. "So what? Just hire a chūnin to slit his throat in the night. He's only a civilian; you don't need me for something like that." In truth, it made no difference to him who he killed as long as he got the money he needed, but he was not fool enough to take such an easy-sounding mission at face value. If Gato was willing to hire a former member of the Hidden Mist's Seven Swordsmen just to kill a civilian, there had to be a catch. In Zabuza's line of work, missing something like that was usually fatal.

Gato chewed his lower lip. "That's not an option anymore. Tazuna escaped to Konoha, and now he's returned with a shinobi bodyguard to protect him. My agents tell me they're led by a ninja with silver-grey hair, and only one visible eye."

Zabuza sat up. "I will deal with this. Leave." Gato seemed about to protest, but Zabuza no longer cared to indulge the walking waste of time. He raised his executioner's blade, Kubikiribōchō, and slammed its metal edge onto the floor with a resounding crash. The weapon smashed straight through the finely crafted stone, scattering crimson fragments in every direction. The small man ducked and shielded himself from the projectiles with frail arms as he and his bodyguard fled through the door.

 _The second coming of Konoha's White Fang: Kakashi, of the Sharingan eye…_

After considering for only a moment, Zabuza stood and drew himself up to his full height. He strode over to where a cloth seemed to be suspended in mid-air, which he tore away with a single angry gesture. Revealed underneath there was a mirror which was made entirely of ice: A single pane of cold white matter, thin as a blade, which reflected his pale image with perfect accuracy.

"Haku."

Frigid air wafted down and around the rectangle of ice, cold enough to freeze the moisture in the air itself and form crystal patterns on the stone floor all around it. At the same time, a figure appeared within the pane to replace his own reflection: A boy of perhaps sixteen stood there like a frozen image, seeming somehow sad and forlorn despite the mask that hid his face. Then the boy stepped through the portal, and he was inside the room, as though he had always been standing there.

"Master Zabuza?"

The boy was clad in the traditional garb of the Hidden Mist's hunter-ninja: A pinstriped grey outfit underneath a green haori with white trimmings. His white metal mask had thin eye-slits, with a red wavy design over the mouth and the Hidden Mist's symbol edged in the top – a mask that had once belonged to Zabuza himself. His face was framed by a pair of long black locks gathered in iron cuffs.

Zabuza eyed the outfit disapprovingly. "How long are you going to keep wearing that stupid mask?"

The boy removed the Anbu mask with one hand, and lowered it to his side. Revealed below was a kind and gentle face, feminine to the point of androgyny. His voice was equally sweet, calm and soothing like a lullaby. "Forgive me, master Zabuza. It reminds me of the old days."

"There are no old days," Zabuza said gruffly. "There is only my ambition for the future, and the role you are to play in it. Remember that."

The boy nodded. "Of course. I am your weapon to be used and discarded, master Zabuza."

"Very good." Zabuza smiled slightly, knowing it would be safely hidden behind the bandages that covered his mouth. Then he grew serious once more. "Our new 'employer' wants to pay me to kill a bridge builder called Tazuna. The bridge builder is guarded by one Hatake Kakashi, from the Hidden Leaf."

"The last wielder of the Sharingan," Haku said instantly, his eyes widening in realization. "It is rumoured to be able to see through any trick, copy any technique, control minds and even see the future…"

Zabuza gave an affirmative grunt. He walked to the couch and collapsed back onto the seat, though this time he did not slouch. He leaned forward, arms resting on his knees, and gave the boy his full attention.

"You're smart, Haku. So tell me… how do I defeat Hatake Kakashi, of the Sharingan eye?"

* * *

"The situation has changed," Sakura's teacher told them. "We are no longer bound by the stipulations of our mission, and we need to revaluate our plans accordingly." He leaned over intently, eyeing each of them in turn. "As members of team seven, I want to hear what you think we should do next."

For a quiet moment they sat huddled together within the darkness of the store room, illuminated only by flickering candlelight. Finally, when it seemed nobody else would speak up, Sakura gave voice to the obvious. "We should go back to Konoha. We're not prepared for this: We have no combat experience, and now we're up against enemy ninjas for our first real mission? It's too much."

Naruto stared into the candle, his blue eyes ablaze with stubborn determination. "I'm not leaving," he said, his voice uncharacteristically quiet. "This is what we came here for – to help people. That's what this Will of Fire stuff is supposed to be all about, isn't it?" He shook his head slightly. "You guys can leave if you want... I'm gonna stay and fight."

She frowned at him, suppressing a note of irritation at his obstinacy. "Naruto, there are millions of people who need our help worldwide. If we go back to the village we can just ask for a different mission where we can save more people with less risk. It makes no sense to feel obligated to help these people just because Tazuna-san tricked us into coming with him in the first place!" She forced her voice back down to a whisper, keeping her teacher's warning in mind. "Anyway, you can't just stay here on your own; you'd be branded as a rogue ninja. And since the rest of us want to go back, you'll just have to-"

"No, Naruto is right." Right when Naruto looked about to cave in, Sasuke spoke up from where he was seated on her right. His hands were folded together under his chin, the way he used to do at the academy, and his expression was just as deep and mysterious as it had been back when they were sorted into teams. "As ninjas, we knew that the survival rate for genin was low when we started, but we made that choice regardless, because we value some things more highly than the risk to our own lives." His dark inscrutable eyes moved to bore into hers, and Sakura felt her face flush with heat. He continued in a smooth voice, all silk and cool reason. "Sakura, you're wrong to think that you can best avoid danger by doing nothing. For ninjas, most casualties occur when genin are engaged in real combat for the first time. As such, gaining some combat experience here may actually be the most prudent course of action."

She looked at him, her lips moving silently as she sought some way to object, but she found neither courage nor the words to protest with. Somehow, when Sasuke spoke he sounded so much more profound, and compared to him all her finely crafted arguments became no more than the immature gripes of a frightened child. A deep defiant part of her wanted to point out that if he was right about the risks, then perhaps becoming a ninja had been a _mistake_ , or not even that: That it had not been a decision at all, but something that just _happened_ , without any kind of logical reasoning or thought behind it. But she could not bear to say so now, for if she did Sasuke would look at her again with such condemnation and pity in his eyes, and then she would never be able to face the world again.

She turned to her last hope: The legendary ninja who was her teacher, Hatake Kakashi, who still had the authority to call off this madness and bring them all home safely. When she spoke it was almost pleadingly. "But sensei, what do _you_ think? I mean, you said Tazuna-san lied to us and everything, so..."

"Hm. It's true that this mission is dangerous, and I wouldn't want to risk your lives needlessly," Kakashi admitted. "But at the same time, I don't want to force you to act differently from how I would myself, were I in your position." He leaned back, looking upwards as though in remembrance of events long passed. "To see what is right without acting on it bespeaks an absence of courage. Those are the words of the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, who was my teacher." As he said that, Naruto's blue eyes burned even brighter, and Sakura knew that the battle was well and truly lost.

She slowly rubbed her temples with her fingers, in a vain effort to gain her bearings, and sighed. "Ok, fine, I just… Just tell us what we should do next."

* * *

In the darkness of the storeroom, a single candle provided a flickering, uncertain light.

Kakashi regarded his studious pupil seriously. "Well, that's up to you to decide. What do you think we should do?" _Now, let's see how much you three have grown._

"Isn't that obvious?" Sakura hardly seemed to be paying attention anymore: Her mind was elsewhere, though what she was truly thinking Kakashi did not know. "Our mission is to protect Tazuna, isn't it? So that's what we should do."

"No…" Naruto looked up for the first time since the team had entered the room. "What our official mission is doesn't matter anymore, since the only reason we're still here is to do the right thing and help the villagers. So we gotta ask ourselves how to do that, instead of just doing what we're told."

"Naruto is right," said Sasuke. "If we stay here and wait for the enemy to attack us, we are at a disadvantage. Therefore, we should take the fight to the enemy and move to assassinate Gato. Once he is dead there will be no more assassination attempts, and our mission will be accomplished as well." The youth reclined in his seat and folded his arms, clearly considering the issue settled.

"Wait, hold on a moment." Sakura was whispering more urgently now, some of her earlier energy having returned to her. "I don't oppose killing Gato, he sounds like a horrible little man and probably deserves to die, but killing him won't really fix anything. The whole reason Gato is targeting the Land of Waves is because they have no ninja of their own. If we killed him, it would only be a matter of time until the next crime lord went after them. We should train the villagers to defend themselves instead, so that they will no longer be such an easy target."

"Training foreign Shinobi is forbidden under Konoha law," Sasuke reminded her. "Besides, what chance do even trained villagers have against real ninjas? They would be completely useless."

"Wait," said Naruto, turning to Kakashi for answers. "What is the _exact_ wording of that rule?"

"We are not allowed to reveal any of Konoha's secrets, on pain of death," he replied. "That includes the secrets of how to train someone to become a shinobi."

"But then we could still train the villagers to use basic chakra manipulation, like Samurai," Naruto said with growing excitement. "And nothing's stopping us from doing both: We could kill Gato and train the villagers at the same time, so that after we leave ordinary bandits wouldn't dare attack them."

Sakura frowned. "I suppose."

"Then it's settled," Sasuke said. "Sakura can stay behind and train villagers, while the rest of us take the fight to the enemy, and finish this."

"Wait," Naruto said. "We haven't considered any other ideas yet. Is there any way we could convince Gato to just leave the country alone? Couldn't we just, I dunno, bribe him or something? And can we really believe Tazuna when he says Gato is behind all of this? We should really make a list of options before we decide what's best."

Soon, Sakura had spread a scroll out onto the table, and was drawing diagrams and listing their options with advantages and disadvantages for each. The three children were bent over the parchment, trying to read her writing in the dim candlelight and arguing in hushed voices. Even Sasuke seemed to have gotten caught up in the discussion, having entirely forgotten that he was supposed to be aloof. Kakashi watched it all with a masked smile, blending into the shadows as a shinobi should.

 _And to think that, only a month ago, they couldn't even work together well enough to take a single bell from me. Minato-sensei… Obito, Rin… This time, I'll make sure to do it right._


	11. Plans and Perspective

Naruto found himself blinking against a bright light: It turned out there was a gas lamp suspended over the kitchen table, and its warm light cast long shadows that danced across the floor. The walls of the kitchen were half-timber, but the cooking area was made of stone to guard against the open flame which Tsunami was using to make supper with the sullen aid of Inari. As the team entered the kitchen, Tazuna beckoned them to join him at the table. "Come, come!" he called. "My daughter made us a feast!"

At his signal, the young woman brought in bowls of cooked rice and sweet-smelling fish in a bed of seaweed. "I must apologize again for the state of our furniture," she said as she arranged the dishes before them. "I'm afraid the attack on our home has left us ill-equipped to host such honoured guests." It was not until she pointed it out that Naruto realized they were not seated at an antique Kotatsu at all, but rather an ordinary table which had its wounded legs removed and now rested its body on a thick blanket. Naruto sat down on one of the cushions that replaced the broken chairs, and shifted awkwardly in an attempt to get more comfortable.

"There is no need to apologize," Sakura assured her. "It's very traditional to eat like this in the Land of Fire."

"Yeah, me and my dad eat from the floor all the time," Naruto said cheeringly. "Of course, the only reason we do it is 'cause the table keeps getting stacked with dirty dishes we don't wanna wash, but…" He trailed off as Sakura glared at him. "What?"

The bridge builder leaned forward with barely concealed anticipation, his sharp eyes peeking out over his spectacles as he addressed the team. "So, ah, how was your discussion? You found it to be fruitful, I hope?"

"Oh yes," Kakashi said as he reached for his plate, pulled down his mask and began eating. "I should think so." Following his lead, the group began their meal in silence. For a while, the quiet was disturbed only by the distant sounds of nocturnal birds coming from the trees outside, and the gas lantern hanging overhead which whistled softly as it basked the stone and timber kitchen in an orange glow.

"Ah, what I meant to ask was, did you come to a conclusion?"

"Well yes, I dare say we did." Kakashi gave him a brief look of mock-confusion before returning to his meal once more. With his mask pulled down his face was clearly visible: His smooth jawline and clear skin made him look… well, Naruto was pretty sure it was the kind of face that the girls in his class would have fawned over, the same way they did for Sasuke. He looked to his team mates to gauge their reaction, but their thoughts seemed to be elsewhere.

The old bridge builder stared at his plate with a forlorn look, seemingly having lost his appetite. "Look, I'm… I'm sorry I lied to you. I understand if you don't want to help us anymore; it's not your fault that we're in this mess. I shouldn't have blamed you for what Gato has done to this poor country of ours."

"Calm down." Kakashi idly wiped his mouth with his hand towel. "Don't worry. We talked it over, and we've agreed to help you. We'll make sure you have nothing to fear from Gato, and we'll even train your people to defend themselves so they can stand up against others like him afterwards."

"You will?" Tazuna's eyes lit up, and he hastily rose to give Kakashi a clumsy bow. "Thank you, thank you so much. You have no idea how important this is to us, to the people of this country... if you can just protect me long enough for me to finish building my bridge, I can give them hope again and everything will go back to the way it was before." An idea seemed to occur to him, then. "When I finish my work, I'll name my great bridge after you as a token of our gratitude. You have my word!"

"Stop it!" Inari leaped up angrily, speaking for the first time that evening. "Grandpa, why are you bowing and scraping before these ninjas, acting like everything's going to be all right now? It's not! Wishes don't come true just because you believe in them. Can't you see that everything's gonna go all wrong?"

"Inari!" his mother cried, mortified. "These people just agreed to risk their lives to help us. You can't talk about them like that."

"Forget it," said Inari. "I'm going to my room to watch the ocean." He pulled open the sliding door and, without saying another word, strode up the stairs to the second floor of the house. His footsteps could be heard banging up the steps, and then a second door was shut, louder than the one before.

"Seriously," said Naruto. "What's up with that kid?"

"I'm sorry about that," Tazuna sighed. "The fact of the matter is that Inari hasn't been the same since the incident where he lost his father, all those years ago."

"His father died?" Sakura sounded concerned, but not surprised.

It was Tsunami who replied, though she kept on clearing away the dishes and did not turn her head. "He was a man named Kaiza, a fisherman who came to this village in pursuit of his dreams. Even though they weren't related, Inari loved him like the father he never had, and I loved him as the man who would become my husband. Even the villagers came to adore him as the hero who saved us all from a terrible flood: He jumped straight into the turbulent waters and, without hesitation, affixed the rope that closed the dam. He used to love saying that he would 'protect what's important to him with his own two arms', which I always thought was terribly banal..."

There was a heaviness in Naruto's gut, as though he knew what came next. "Then what happened?"

Tazuna answered, his eyes fixed onto the table, though there was nothing left to look at. "Gato set his greedy eyes upon the Land of Waves. He took over the merchant fleet and cut us off from the mainland, letting him raise his prices until we had to spend all our savings just to survive. Seeing us grow more desperate by the day, Kaiza gathered all the bravest villagers and formed a resistance to fight back. A week later Gato accused him of committing acts of sabotage against his company, and the samurai in his service put him to death by cutting off his arms right in front of everybody while we watched."

Naruto hesitated. He did not want to be the one to say it, but… "Is it possible that Gato was speaking the truth? I mean, not that it justifies what he did or anything, but could it be that Kaiza really did attack his company?" _Nobody thinks of themselves as the villain of their own story… do they?_

Tazuna wrung his hands. "I don't know. To this day, I don't know what Kaiza did, or even if he did anything at all. He never included me in his plans. He probably thought I was too old to be involved…"

There was an awkward silence for a while, none of them seeming to know what to say. At last Sasuke rose from his cushion and moved towards the door in one smooth motion. "As interesting as this was, it's getting late, and there are other things we need to do tomorrow." He slid open the door and walked through as he spoke. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm going to get some sleep."

Kakashi nodded and stood up as well. "Sasuke's right, we'll need our energy for tomorrow. Thank you for the meal, Tazuna-san, Tsunami-san."

"Ah…" Tazuna glanced at his daughter, who was still cleaning up, then turned back to Kakashi. "Hold on, I'll get you some blankets from the storage room. It can get chilly around here at night, and you'll catch a cold if you're not used to it." He followed after Kakashi and the two of them walked out the door as well.

And then there was just Naruto, Sakura and Tsunami. The latter was cleaning dishes with a washcloth.

"I met a Shinto Priest once," the young woman said in conversational tones. "I asked him what happened to my Kaiza, after he died. Whether his spirit was in heaven, and if he was happy there." She opened a cupboard and placed one of the plates there with a _clink_. "The priest told me that all living things have chakra inside of them, and that this is what we call the soul. When we die, the chakra goes to the Pure Land, where the value of our soul is measured and our afterlife is decided for us." She placed a cup in the cabinet with a _clunk_. "At first I was relieved to learn that Kaiza was not truly gone, but then it struck me – here I was asking a priest about chakra, but what did he really know about it? You ninjas work with chakra all your lives, you mould it and twist it and make it your own… so if anything you would know, wouldn't you? So please tell me: What really happened to my Kaiza after he died?"

Sakura averted her eyes, as though she did not dare look at her. "It's true that what happens to our chakra after we die used to be a mystery, and some sages still believe our essence goes up into the heavens. But in Konoha we have the Byakugan and the Sharingan, and other techniques that can we use to perceive chakra. So we know that once you die your chakra radiates outward and is collected by plants and animals, or is gathered as fuel for ninja techniques. It does not go anywhere else."

"So he's really gone? His chakra might be in some animal or plant somewhere, but I'll never get to see Kaiza again?"

"I'm sorry," Sakura whispered. She really did sound sorry, Naruto reflected. Like it was her personal failing, that made heaven not exist, and not a deep and glaring flaw of reality itself. An unsightly, abominable thing that was too painful to look upon for long… that is what it was.

"My husband really is dead, then." Tsunami put the last of the dishes away, closed the cupboard, and turned around to face the two ninja. Naruto was shocked to see that her eyes were completely dry. "I don't know what you talked about in that store room, but if you really intend to help us against Gato…" She got down on her knees and bowed low, bending over until her forehead almost touched the floor. "Please. I don't have any money, and I don't have any power. I don't have anything of value to offer you, but please… kill Gato for us. If it's the last thing you do, even if the world burns down the day after and there is nothing left but ash, please do not let this injustice stand. I beg of you…"

Sakura vainly tried to help her up, to reassure the young woman and dry the tears that were now falling freely, but Naruto could barely see or hear it anymore.

Deep inside of him, a low fire burned.

* * *

Haku's master sat down on the grey leather couch, the muscles of his mighty frame rippling beneath his pale skin as he did so. There was an intense look in his brown eyes as he leaned forward, his bare arms resting on his knees. When he spoke his voice was a low rumble. "You're smart, Haku. So tell me… how do I defeat Hatake Kakashi, of the Sharingan eye?"

Haku gave it a moment's thought, but in the end there was only one answer. "You do not."

Zabuza's thin eyebrows narrowed slightly in annoyance. "Explain."

"Hatake Kakashi is the son of Hatake Sakumo, who was renowned as Konoha's White Fang until he took his own life." Haku pulled the Black Book with Kakashi's entry from his pocket, though there was no real need to do so: He had memorized its contents long ago, to better serve his master. "A natural genius, Hatake Kakashi graduated from the Academy when he was eleven, passed the chūnin exams the next year and was promoted to jōnin at age fourteen. He is said to have acquired the Sharingan by killing his comrade, and used its ability to analyse techniques so expertly that he gained the moniker 'Kakashi of the thousand-techniques', though that is most likely exaggeration. After being promoted to Anbu captain he became known as 'cold blooded Kakashi', the 'friend killer', for his role in hunting down the Leaf's dissenters who opposed peace and reconciliation after the Third Great War." Haku returned the Black Book to his pocket. "The rest of his entry reads much the same. Put simply, he is not the kind of opponent you can hope to defeat."

Zabuza let out a low growl. "And just who do you think you're speaking to, Haku? I am Momochi Zabuza, the Daemon of the Bloody Mist! Strongest of the greatest generation of the Seven Swordsmen! I can-"

"You cannot. Hatake Kakashi is not merely more skilled than you, he is also faster, more versatile, and has the Sharingan on top of all that. If you were smarter than him it might be possible for you to defeat him regardless, but given that he's considered to be a genius and you're not, that seems unlikely."

"Fine," said Zabuza, now sounding thoroughly irritated. "I don't have to take him head on. I am a master in the art of Silent Killing; I'll sneak up on him while he sleeps, and-"

"We cannot expect such a simple tactic to work," Haku pointed out. "Hatake Kakashi has a large black-market bounty on his head in every major country, which means he must have lived through countless assassination attempts already. Even if such a stratagem seems to stand on its own merits, you should assume it will fail regardless – unless, of course, you have good reason to believe that you are smarter than all those that came before?"

"Don't be insolent with me!" A loud bang reverberated through the stones of the fortress as Zabuza kicked at his Executioner's Blade, spiking his monstrous chakra as he did so. "We both know you're the clever one, Haku – so tell me already, the strategy you came up with to defeat him!"

The oppressive chakra forced him to his knees, and for a moment Haku was afraid he had gone too far in correcting his master, but then the killing intent receded and he was free to breath once more. "It's… true that I might be able to devise a way for you to defeat the White Fang," he replied cautiously. "However, the fact that it is possible does not mean it should be done. The true power of reason is to decide what should be done in the first place: When faced with an insurmountable obstacle, a clever shinobi might be able to devise a technique to destroy it, yet it may be more efficient to go around and avoid it entirely." He rose to his feet once more. "Please forgive me. If I seem impertinent it's only because I am doing my best to better serve you, master Zabuza."

"You are annoying as always," said Zabuza, though something in his voice did not quite match up with his words. He let go of his sword and leaned back on the couch with a long sigh. "Just tell me what you mean. You're saying I should refuse Gato and wait for another mission, is that it?"

"Not quite," said Haku, confidence returning to his voice as he spoke. "The Konoha ninja do not know we are here, which means we have the initiative: We can define the rules of engagement, fight on our own terms, and win in accordance with our true objectives. All we need now is the right information."

Deep within the evergreen forest, the lights in the old abandoned tower shone for a while longer.

* * *

Inari liked his room. It let him watch the ocean.

There was a time when Inari had liked many things: The items that still lay scattered on his desk were proof of that. Old pencils and paper that had once been used to make childish drawings were stuffed into a corner, mostly forgotten. A packet of fishing hooks, brand new and unused, held a place of honour in the centre. He had been so happy when his father had given them to him, so eager had he been for them to go fishing together. That promise had been broken like so many others, but the hooks remained, to remind him.

Still, he was glad that he could watch the ocean from his room. He liked listening to the forlorn cries of the seagulls, and he liked the smell of the sea that was carried into his room by the damp wind. He never knew why, but for all that the sounds and the smells saddened him, it felt so much more real than the smiles and the voices of his family. They laughed and joked and acted like everything would be all right, and there were times when Inari thought they had forgotten, but then he would catch a glint in his mother's eye and he knew that it was all a lie.

Of course the ninjas thought him weak. A ninja was not supposed to show emotion: He knew that much from the stories he read, but he had never been able to hide the way he felt. And why should he? The world did not stop being sad if you pretended to smile, and dreams did not come true just because you believed in them. _They_ were the ones who were too stupid to realize that, while he was just being honest with himself… so why would that make him weak?

Inari sat there, crouched atop his desk, gazing at the ocean for so long that time became meaningless. Then his door slid open, and Inari sat bolt upright.

 _I didn't hear the stairs. Why didn't I hear the stairs?_

He scrambled beneath his desk, reached for the weapon he kept there and turned and loosed in a single movement. The bolt struck the wooden doorpost with a _thunk_ , and the silhouette in the doorway seemed to recoil in surprise, but that was all the result he got. Inari grasped for a second bolt, but the enemy was in front of him and he realized that the weapon had already been plucked from his hands.

… _that's not fair,_ he thought, uselessly.

The shadow examined its trophy, fingering it idly. "A crossbow… a mechanism that gathers all your power to make the most of the one moment that decides life or death. For a civilian fighting against a ninja, your choice of weapon is quite correct." The figure tossed the crossbow back and Inari hurried to catch it. "But you missed."

Inari clutched the weapon against his body like a shield, or perhaps it was just to keep his heart from bursting out of his chest. _He's not gonna kill me. He would have already, if he wanted to._ It was not fair, that he should feel so afraid despite knowing that. When you had nothing left to lose, you should not have to be scared any more, or so it seemed to him. "What – what do you want?"

The figure stalked towards the window, his outline briefly highlighted as rays of moonlight passed over him, only to become a shadow once more. He was not very tall, Inari realized, which contradicted his earlier impression of a living darkness looming over him. But of course, Inari was shorter still.

"Earlier, you told the others that everything would _go all wrong_ ," the voice said smoothly. "I want to know what you intend to do about that."

"What I plan to-" Inari floundered. "I can't do anything, I don't have any power! I'm not a ninja like you. I'm just a kid, so nobody even listens to me." He stared hard at the silhouette, which seemed far darker than it had any right to be in this moonlight. He was fairly sure he knew who he was talking to at this point, and the anger at being made to feel afraid gave him a queer kind of courage. "Who do you think you are, anyway? You think you can just come to our country and decide everything for us, like we don't even matter? Whether you belong to Gato or the Leaf, you ninja are all the same!"

"Hm. And what if you're right?"

Inari blinked at the darkness. "What?"

"What if everything you believe is true?" The shadow gazed at the ocean, uncaring. "Nothing is ever certain in this world, so it's a possibility you should at least consider. What if you don't have any power and you can't trust anyone else to fix your problems, and everything really is going to go all wrong? What would be the logical thing to do, in that case?"

Inari floundered again, struggling to make sense of the stranger's strange ideas, but this time the anger came back twice as strong. "There's nothing for me _to_ do! You people think it's so easy… you all talk and laugh it up without a worry in the world, but you have no idea what it's like to be weak. When you try to be brave and fight someone stronger than you, you only end up dead! If my dad had just understood that he'd still be alive, but now he's gone and I've got nothing left."

There was a long silence, long enough for Inari to worry that he had gone too far and the ninja would kill him after all. Then the voice spoke again, in a dry whisper. "It really is amazing, what a little perspective will do for you…" Having said those words, the silhouette turned and walked back to the door.

"Where are you going?" Inari asked uncertainly. "Aren't you gonna argue with me?"

There was a slight pause. "Why should I? It's just like you said: You're only a child, you don't have any power, and you have nothing of value to protect. You don't matter in the least." Then, without saying another word, the shadow stalked out of the room, leaving Inari alone in the darkness.

The door slid shut.


	12. To Become Stronger

**A/N** : Thank you for all the kind reviews, everyone! Special thanks to Fuyuriku for the spelling/grammar corrections.

I have changed Tsunami/Terumi back to her original name - my beta reader thought the name Tsunami was stupid, but it looks like the change was tripping more people up.

* * *

The morning sun was shining brightly by the time Kakashi re-joined his bleary-eyed genin team at the field that was their meeting spot; an open area between the village and the forest. _These are not morning people_ , he thought to himself, not for the first time. If Obito were still around, he would probably say it was only appropriate that he be condemned to lead a team of slow-pokes – a fitting punishment for all the years Kakashi spent reprimanding his Uchiha comrade for his lax attitude.

That morning while the others still slept, he and Tazuna had gone through the village house to house, gathering volunteers to learn how to fight and defend the village against the likes of Gato. Now, the future army of the Land of Waves awaited them, arrayed before them in all their glory.

Besides Kakashi, Naruto blinked blearily as he looked upon the newly founded Resistance. "Ah… is the rest still on their way here or something?"

"No, these are the only ones who came," said Tazuna, his grey eyes staring out over his spectacles to regard his chosen people. "Ever since Gato had Kaiza executed, this village has been robbed of all courage. They no longer believe Gato can be fought… even these ones wouldn't be here, if the presence of you ninjas hadn't raised their hopes."

The first one to join the group had been the rower from yesterday, still wearing the same conical hat and with the same surly expression on his face. Beside him was a grouchy-looking bearded old man, who had apparently been part of Kaiza's original resistance force. Another was a pretty teenaged girl in a pink kimono, looking innocent enough to have never even heard of the concept of war. The fourth was…

Tazuna looked up in surprise. "Inari? What are you doing here?"

"I need to become stronger," the boy said simply. "If I don't have any power and nobody listens to me and everything really is gonna go all wrong… then the logical thing for me to do is to gain power."

"Now look here," said Tazuna. "I'm glad you're up and about for once and I'm all for showing courage, but you're far too young to…" he trailed off as another person joined the group. "Tsunami? Why are you…?"

"Well, I'm not going to let my son fight Gato all by himself," the young woman replied calmly. "That stands to reason."

The old bridge builder dragged his daughter away by the hand to argue with her, but it was clear he might as well have been talking to a brick wall. Before long he looked ready to tear his greying hair out in frustration. "My neighbours are cowards and my family are stubborn fools! Bloody hell, do as you want then, what does it even matter what I think?" Inari seemed to watch them both with quiet satisfaction.

Naruto gave Kakashi a worried look. "Is this really gonna work? I mean, it takes years just to train academy students into genin. Even if we stay here for a month it won't amount to very much…"

"Don't worry," Kakashi assured him, as he led his team away from the newly formed resistance until they were out of civilian hearing distance. "They won't really be fighting against Gato and his forces, after all; this training is just so they can pick up the pieces after we leave."

"That's right," Sasuke said grimly, his black eyes gleaming with anticipation as he fingered the hilt of his chakra-forged blade. "We'll take care of Gato, and finish this once and for all."

"Or more accurately, I will," Kakashi corrected him, "since you'll be staying here."

Sasuke rounded on him. "What?"

"Assassinating someone who employs ninjas is an A-ranked mission, which the three of you are nowhere close to ready for. So while I go and determine Gato's current location, you kids can stay behind with the villagers and do some nice tree-climbing exercises. I can't imagine you would take any issue with this, Sasuke-kun… unless, of course, the only reason you manoeuvred the team into assassinating Gato is so that you could get combat experience a little faster?"

Naruto stared at his teammate in confusion, but Sasuke gritted his teeth and said nothing. Sakura meanwhile turned to Kakashi. "But, hold on… if you're going after Gato, does that mean we have to defend Tazuna by ourselves? That doesn't seem very-"

Kakashi flicked through the necessary handseals, and an identical twin puffed into existence.

Naruto let out a whoop and punched his fist into the air. "Hah! I always knew he could create shadow clones! I told you, see, I said that any smart shinobi would…" The boy slowly deflated as he saw that neither of the others paid attention to him. "Okay, fine. I still knew it though."

Sakura blinked at the newly created clone. "But then, who's going to train the villagers? Surely it would take too much chakra to have a clone stay with Tazuna, as well as with us and the villagers at the same time?"

"Naruto will," Kakashi said simply.

"But he's going to be doing tree climbing exercises," she pointed out. "So how can he-"

Naruto formed the required seals, and a group of shadow clones appeared besides him.

"Oh never mind," she grumbled. "I swear I will never get used to that ability."

Sasuke sniffed irritably. "I sincerely doubt _Naruto_ could teach them anything worthwhile, but it's not like it matters in the least."

Leaving the clones to take care of the villagers, Kakashi led his genin team to an outcrop of tall trees relatively free of branches. There he explained to them how ninjas could scale vertical surfaces by expelling a carefully controlled stream of chakra from their feet in order to stick to the surface. The difficulty inherent in controlling chakra so precisely was immediately illustrated by Naruto, who attempted the exercise by running up a tree and promptly falling onto his butt.

"I don't see the point of his," the boy complained as he nursed his backside with both hands. "I mean, if we're going up against ninjas, shouldn't we be learning a combat technique instead of climbing trees?"

"Aren't you the one who mocked the Hidden Stone ninjas for never learning to walk on water, just two days ago?" Kakashi took on a lecturing tone as he admonished his student. "Now you see how that happens: At any point in time you can always find something more pressing to do than that one vital but not immediately necessary task, and it's only once it's too late that you look back on your decisions and your mistake becomes painfully obvious. The trick is to substitute thinking 'do I do this now or later?' with 'do I do this now or never?', because all too often that's the choice you actually end up making."

He turned to watch Sasuke, who was undertaking his own attempt to run up a tree, only to drop down again after just a few paces. "Anyway," he said, "this training does more than just let you climb trees; it also teaches you to control your chakra, which is the essence of what it means to be a ninja – and it looks like you guys still have a long way to go."

"Actually," a voice called from above, "this training is pretty easy!"

Kakashi looked up to find Sakura sitting on one of the highest tree branches, and upon seeing Naruto's and Sasuke's stunned reactions, he could not help but smile. "Well, well, well… It looks like the person in this team with the best chakra control isn't the genius Uchiha or the boy trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin, but clan-less little Sakura. It seems you two have some catching up to do." This only served to aggravate them further, which suited Kakashi just fine. _Let them have the extra motivation, and tone those egos down for once._

Sakura rushed down the tree to land on the ground next to him, and Kakashi greeted her with a masked smile. "Well done, Sakura. Since you're so far ahead of the others, you can come help me protect Tazuna, or you could help Naruto train the villagers if you prefer."

The face she gave him was one of perfect innocence, sweet and pink as a cherry blossom. "Or, you could teach me a combat technique. You know, considering how I don't have the Sharingan or shadow clones to let me learn faster, or a clan of my own or one of the Sannin to teach me secret techniques…"

"All right, all right." Kakashi raised his hands in mock surrender. "I'll teach you something useful, I promise. Come."

* * *

Sakura followed her sensei into the forest at the edge of the lake. They went far enough that the others would not overhear them, but she could not help but note that they remained in clear view of Naruto and Sasuke at all times. _Does he really not have enough chakra to create another shadow clone? Or does he just not think I'm important enough to give me his full attention?_

After a while, he began talking as they walked. "Based on your success with the tree-climbing exercise, I think it's fair to say that chakra-control is your greatest strength. It's probably your highly focussed and disciplined mind that lets you do it so easily. That makes you ideally suited for learning medical ninjutsu, as well as genjutsu for which I already taught you the basics."

She frowned. "Those are both support techniques."

"Well, yes." Her sensei did not turn his head but kept walking, his feet inaudible as they drifted over the forest floor. She noticed that the stray leaves and forest debris gently parted before him, and the thought occurred to her that he was using the exact same trick as for climbing trees and walking on water. "You said you wanted to be a great medical ninja like Tsunade of the Sannin, didn't you? Medical ninja fulfil a vital role in any team; don't make the mistake of thinking that you'd be any less important, just because you're not on the front line."

She had to admit that all of that was true. "But… I could be a front line fighter too, right? I mean, if I wanted to."

"You could," Kakashi agreed. "Tsunade can use her chakra-control to perform incredible feats of strength, which together with her regeneration technique allows her to fight in melee combat as well. But, another fighter is not what this team _needs_." They arrived at a clearing, and Kakashi turned to face her at last. "Naruto has enormous amounts of chakra and uses the shadow clone technique expertly, which makes him a perfect front-line brawler, with a joint role as distraction and reconnaissance. Sasuke meanwhile is fast and has the Sharingan, making him ideally suited for taking out key targets. They're both very talented ninja, but if either of them gets hit, they'll die just as easily as anyone else." His one visible eye bored into hers, now. "If you don't learn medical ninjutsu, and the team ends up needing it, then you'll regret it for the rest of your life. This I can tell you for a fact."

The intensity of his words reeled her, and the image of Naruto and Sasuke's broken and dying bodies entered her mind involuntarily. "But, that's not fair," she protested, even as she dismissed the image. "Why can't one of them learn medical ninjutsu? Why do I have to be the responsible one?"

"Because you _are_ the responsible one." Kakashi glanced in the direction of the others, who were still attempting to run up their trees, going up several meters before falling down again and starting anew. Sasuke could reach considerably higher than Naruto, but neither of them was making much progress as of yet. "Naruto has the mental discipline of a distracted squirrel, and Sasuke is far too bent on revenge to ever focus on healing another. That leaves you, and you happen to be ideally suited to the task."

"Because I'm a _girl_ , you mean." It came out stronger than she had intended, but then it had been welling up for a while now. "You come up with all these reasonable sounding arguments, but the conclusion is always the same… Whether it's me or Ino or Hinata, it's always the girl who has to stay in the back and support the others. Am I wrong?"

Kakashi shrugged again. "Maybe. Do you deny that you have better chakra control than the others? Do you deny that neither Naruto nor Sasuke will ever learn medical ninjutsu, and that the team needs it?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then it doesn't matter. Maybe it's true that kunoichi are better suited for support roles in general, or maybe I'm just prejudiced. It makes no difference, because in your specific case it definitely holds up." He sat down on the grass, folding his legs beneath him. "Shall we get started?"

She stared down at him, fuming. "You don't care at all, do you? It makes no difference to you how I feel… it doesn't matter what I or any of us want. You don't care in the slightest."

"I suppose that's true," he said calmly, and the blatant acknowledgement of the fact somehow drained away part of her anger as well. "The only thing that matters is that you survive long enough to become jōnin: That is my first and only priority as your sensei. Sakura, when you grow a little wiser, you'll realize that some things are more important than mere feelings. Fools are always quick to voice their opinion when wise men think and say nothing." Just as her blood started to rise again, he stared her down once more. "Sakura. I think you're closer to realizing the true meaning of power than either of the others, but right here and now you need to acknowledge that I'm your teacher and _listen_ to me."

 _That's right; I'm supposed to be the one who deals well with authority figures, aren't I?_ She had almost forgotten that, in the heat of the moment. "Then what do you want me to do, Kakashi-sensei?"

He beamed at her, so brightly it was visible even through his mask, and patted the grass next to him. "I want you to sit next to me and learn medical ninjutsu. Come on, it'll be fun."

She glowered at him again, but did as she was bid. She squatted next to him on the grass with her arms folded and her hands clasped underneath her armpits. At the same time, Kakashi laid a scroll out onto the grass from which he produced a large trout, lying still and looking to be very dead indeed.

"This is Taeko the Trout," Kakashi announced brightly. "She's feeling a little under the weather right now, but we're going to fix her up again, right as rain."

"That's impossible," she said flatly, as her brain shifted to the familiar territory of correcting people about basic Academy material. "You can't store living creatures inside scrolls, which means it has to be dead, and you can't just heal dead things back to life."

"Ah, ah, ah! What did I just say about listening to your brilliant and handsome sensei?" He waggled his finger at her. "Reanimation might result in brain damage, but trout aren't very smart to begin with, and Taeko here wasn't exactly the first in her school." Sakura groaned inwardly at the pun, which had been exactly as stupid as her father's always were. "Now, watch."

As she looked on, he formed a series of hand seals – she recognized a modified Ox and Tiger seal, which meant he was using the Mystical Palm technique. In response, a faint green glow began to emanate from his palms. He glided his hands over the trout, infusing the dead fish with healing energy. At first nothing seemed to happen, but after a few moments there was a faint stirring. Then the trout started flopping in full and her heart skipped a beat, and the world tumbled as she fell back onto the grass behind her.

"Incredible…" She stared at the flopping trout in awe. The mystical palm technique was the most basic medical ninjutsu, which imbued the injured with restorative chakra to stimulate the natural healing processes. _He brought an animal back to life with just that?_ "I didn't even know you could do medical ninjutsu… you really are amazing, Kakashi-sensei."

Her teacher shrugged. "I learned the bare basics from my teammate, Rin, who used to tend to our injuries when we got wounded. When I achieved the rank of jōnin she gave me a first aid pack as a graduation present. I didn't learn any real medical ninjutsu until later." His one eye misted over slightly.

A wave of guilt washed over her as she remembered the story he had told them only two days ago. _Did you come to wish that your own feelings had not been taken into account, Kakashi-sensei?_

"What was she like?" she asked instead. _Naruto would've just blurted out what he really wanted to know,_ she thought morosely.

"Rin?" Her teacher rubbed his masked chin, reflecting. "She was kind, and gentle. She was always willing to help out the team, never complaining even when we caused trouble for her. She was a, she was…"

She gave him a concerned look. "Kakashi-sensei?"

An odd, glazed-over expression was fixed onto what could be seen of his face. "It's the strangest thing. I'm trying to think of a word to describe her that isn't a synonym for 'nice', and I'm failing. I can't shake the feeling that I never really got to know her at all. Isn't that strange? I consider her one of the best friends I ever had, and I don't even know anything about her. Even if I try to remember her face, all I see in my mind is the picture I have on my nightstand. Minato-sensei told me that my friends would live on in my memories, but I suppose those are gone now too. There truly is nothing left."

She had no idea know what she was supposed to say to that. Her teacher did not say anything else however, and so the silence stretched on, until she could contain herself no longer.

"Kakashi-sensei… can I ask you a question?"

He looked up, distractedly. "Hm?"

"Why do you keep doing this?" Her hands immediately went to her mouth as she realized how that must have sounded. "I mean, why do you tell these stories about your past? It has to hurt just to think about it, so why do you, I mean…" She stopped talking.

"Oh, well. I do not want it to happen again." He made it sound so obvious. "Sometimes, tragedies happen for important reasons that you just can't do anything about, and if that's the case there's no point in beating yourself up over it. But most of the time, terrible things happen for stupid and pointless reasons, like seeing your teacher make a mistake but not saying anything because it would be just too awkward. Or having your team fall apart, because you did not think it was your responsibility to keep it together. If all of you were to die, and I could have easily prevented it just by telling you a few stories…" He smiled at her, and it was visible even through the mask. "Well, that would just be too pathetic."

She gave no reply to that, for there was nothing that could be said. Before them, the trout had stopped flopping around again, and Kakashi seemed to have noticed as well, because his one visible eye lit up.

"Ah, I see that Taeko is having some problems with her lungs. Sakura, why don't you see if you can help her with that? Now, these are the hand signs that you should use…"

* * *

A hundred meters or so away, in the open field between the forest and the village, the training was going about as well as could be expected – and Naruto's expectations had not been high. Amongst the two dozen ragtag and ragged volunteers, the only ones who turned out to have any talent at manipulating chakra were Tsunami, her son Inari, the surly rower and the pretty teenage girl in the pink kimono. In the end Naruto decided to focus his attention on them, while the remainder of his clones helped train the others in conventional combat.

(Naruto might not be the greatest teacher in the world, but at least he always found the time to give each of his students his personal attention)

As he watched, Tsunami paused in her attempts to channel chakra and slowly lowered her hands. "I'm not very good at this, am I, Naruto-sensei?"

"You're doing well… uh, relatively speaking. It takes years for anyone to learn just basic chakra control, so even managing to boost your muscles a little bit is really very good." Mentally, Naruto wracked his brain in an attempt to come up with something else to say that was both supportive and encouraging without being, strictly speaking, a blatant lie. "Anyway, you can stop calling me sensei now. I thought it was kind of neat at first but now it's just gotten _weird_."

She smiled wanly at him, before turning her attention towards Inari, who was being trained by another instance of Naruto's self. She spoke wistfully. "To think that he would be so much better at this than I am. I can't help but wonder, what would have happened if he had grown up in Konoha instead. How differently things could have turned out…"

Listening in on the other pair, Naruto was somewhat embarrassed to realize his fellow clone was giving Inari the exact same encouragement he had just given Tsunami. Apparently identical great minds really did think alike. "Yea, he's really… quite something," he replied absently. "Hey, I just got an idea. When we finish here, I could ask Kakashi-sensei if it's possible to make Inari a citizen of Konoha. Maybe he could pull some strings, and then Inari really could become a ninja! Wouldn't that be something?"

"That sounds amazing." The young woman smiled politely, but even Naruto could tell that the thought only made her sadder, though he could not quite understand why.

Naruto's gaze drifted off to his second clone, who was trying to make himself heard amidst strangled cries of "don't swing your kunai like it's a sword!" and "stop leaving shuriken lying on the ground where other people can step on them!" Naruto was starting to realize he had vastly underestimated the gap in expertise that lay between being a newly graduated ninja, fresh from the academy, and _not_ being a ninja. This made him somewhat more confident in his role as a teacher, but he couldn't shake the feeling that he must look just as hopeless to a real ninja like Kakashi as these civilians seemed to him.

Under the diligent watch of Naruto's third clone, Inari clasped his hands together and strained his muscles in an effort to squeeze out just one more drop of chakra. Naruto did not have the Sharingan like Sasuke and could not sense chakra directly, but even so it was obvious to him that Inari was not having much success.

"You're doing really gr- generally quite well, all things considered," Naruto tried half-heartedly.

"It's not enough…" Inari stared at his scrawny hands with a sullen expression. "I barely feel any stronger. I'm never gonna be able to fight ninjas like this, am I?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, awkwardly. "Eh, well… I mean, the plan was never for you to fight ninjas _straight away_. Becoming stronger isn't something you do for like a week and then forget about, Inari. It's something you _are_ , something you work at every day for the rest of your life even if you don't have to, and even then it won't work unless you have the talent for it. I mean, if it was that easy, everyone in the world would be a ninja."

"Then what's the point?" Inari stared Naruto in the eyes with a look of defiance bordering on despair, though the suspenders and floppy hat somewhat detracted from the effect. "Even if I keep training, it won't be in time to protect mom and grandpa from Gato. I guess all that talk about getting stronger was just empty words, after all…"

An idea occurred to Naruto as he looked at his sullen student, and though he knew he should consider it for longer, he found that he had already decided by the time he opened his mouth to speak. "Listen, Inari: I've got something for you, but you're not to tell anybody, okay?" He shot a glance around the training field to make sure none of the others were paying attention to him, and stealthily palmed Inari a tag from his pouch.

"What is this?" Inari attempted to decipher the scribbling that covered the rectangular piece of parchment, but other than the kanji for 'explosion' in the centre there was nothing that could be read.

"It's an explosive tag," Naruto explained. "If you push just a little bit of chakra into it, it'll go off a few seconds later and create a big explosion. Even you should be able to use it, and no enemy would expect it from you, but it's incredibly dangerous so you gotta promise me you'll be really, really careful not to set it off by accident."

Inari stared at the parchment in total awe, as if he had just been granted one of the lost Imperial Relics rather than an expensive but ultimately basic ninja tool. "I promise," he whispered, sounding every bit the pre-teen boy he truly was.

But as excited as Inari was with his newfound power, the civilian that held the most promise was the teenage girl in the pink kimono. She was pretty in a way that made him feel peculiar, with long black hair and smooth pale skin, but more importantly she turned out to be talented as well.

"That's great!" said Naruto, and he meant it. He'd never seen anyone learn to mould chakra that quickly, though he supposed that for all he knew Sasuke could have been throwing Grand Fireballs around since he was six.

"Is it?" She seemed a little bewildered, which made sense, as many of these civilians had grown up with stories that described ninjas as living gods. She kept staring at Naruto's clones, half a dozen of which were running around the field shouting instructions or giving personal advice to those that needed it. "How are you able to do that?" She asked in a hushed voice. "There's so many of them…"

"Oh, that?" Naruto folded his hands behind his head and grinned, trying to look confident. "That's the Shadow Clone technique. It's a super advanced Jōnin-rank technique, but I managed to learn it anyway. Well, I mean, I did have Jiraiya teach me, but he's really useless so I had to figure most of it out myself."

"Wow, you're amazing." She looked at him with big brown innocent eyes. "Who's Jiraiya? Is that the name of your teacher?"

"Nah, he's my dad. Well not really my dad, but you know. My sensei's Kakashi and he's supposed to be really great, but to be honest he's kind of a bum. Half the time he tries really hard to make us strong and protect us, but the next moment it's like he doesn't care at all." He frowned. "I dunno what it is with strong ninjas, but it's like they're all really weird or useless or else they're totally crazy."

She giggled softly into in her fist, which somehow made her look even cuter.

"So, uh, what're you doing here?" he asked clumsily. "Are you the daughter of a noble or something?"

She laughed again. "No, Naruto-kun. My sole role is to accompany my master in his travels, though now that Gato controls all shipping in the Land of Waves it seems we're stuck here for the moment."

"You travel the world with just your master, without any friends?" Naruto was sure he looked just as appalled as he felt. "Doesn't that get, well… terribly lonely?"

She smiled sadly. "You're right. It can be, sometimes – but as long as I'm with my master I can endure it. The difference between having no one and someone is everything."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly. That part at least he understood very well, though he still felt there was some important context missing with regards to this strange and mysterious girl. "So who's your master? It sounds like you're really proud of him." He cocked his head. "What does he do?"

"It used to be that he could do anything he wanted to," she said wistfully. "But he was forced out of his home by a cruel man, and ever since we've been forced to travel the world, taking on any job we can just to survive. One day, once we've earned enough money, we'll finally be able to go back and change everything to the way it ought to be." Her easy laughter was gone now, buried beneath a melancholy look that was equal parts sadness and determination.

"To be able to go back home again… that's a good dream to have," Naruto said sincerely. It was not as good as putting an end to all the darkness in the world, of course, but he supposed there were limits to what a civilian could realistically accomplish. _No wonder she wants to learn to become a ninja._ Even a recent academy graduate could earn far more than a civilian girl ever would, after all.

"A dream?" She tilted her head at the mention of the word, ever so slightly. "How do you mean?"

"I think it's something the Fourth Hokage once said," Naruto explained. "He thought that every person needs to have a clear goal, to motivate them, or something like that." He frowned, trying to remember the exact wording.

"…for when you have something important to protect, that is when you are able to become truly strong," she said in a whisper. She shook her head before Naruto could respond, as if she were trying to clear away a sudden weariness that had befallen her. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I need to go."

"Go where?" he asked, confused and disappointed. "It's only been-" he looked at the sky, where the sun was already starting to set. _Has it really been that long?_

"I'm sorry," she said again. "My master has need of me. However, I'm sure we'll see each other again soon, Naruto-kun."

"You haven't even told me your name yet," he protested feebly.

She hesitated only slightly before answering. "It's Haku," she said. Then she turned her back, and left.

By the time the original Naruto went back to Tazuna's house, day had turned to night, and when he dispelled his clones none of the others asked him why he suddenly looked so wistful. They probably thought it was exhaustion from the long day climbing trees and training civilians, and nothing more.

* * *

 **A/N:**

All right, that's it for the build-up - next chapter, the action begins! I'm curious: How do you guys feel about the pacing up until this point? Have things been too slow lately, or just right? What about the level of originality compared to canon? Leave a review and let me know!


	13. Clarity and Conflict

Hatake Kakashi quietly shifted his headband from his left eye to the right, letting the Sharingan take in the area without interference. Instantly the surrounding forest sprang into life, each living creature highlighted in accordance with the colour of its chakra, while the rest of the world was covered in a crimson sheen. Minute details that had been invisible to him before were now revealed with perfect clarity: The texture of the foliage that covered his path, faint erosion to the bark of each tree...

The massive tower that arose before him.

It was not quite as tall as the densely packed trees that sheltered it, or else he would have found it much sooner, but even so it was an impressive sight to behold. The lower half was a circular tower, expanding to form a broad upper storey of crimson rock with a thatched roof in the shape of a cone. All of that would have been normal enough, were it not for the countless long filaments that stretched towards the treetops in every direction, giving the impression of a bloated fly suspended from a great spider's web.

 _Which raises the question: Is the spider at home, or away?_

Kakashi's informant had felt certain that Gato would be here this day, but it was obvious that the man was a mere thug and not somebody in the know. Still, the man had been terrified of what Gato would do to him once the Sharingan had done its work in extracting the truth, and that was usually a good sign.

Kakashi formed the necessary seals to create a shadow clone, and dispelled it just as quickly. His clones' reply came not as a sudden shock, but rather a newfound awareness – certain knowledge of the day's events from two new perspectives, as if their experiences were something he had always known but only just remembered. He closed his eyes in weariness as two days' worth of mental exhaustion came with it.

He carefully brushed the foliage out of the way and crept closer, his footsteps silenced through the chakra which he expelled from the bottom of his feet, to spread his weight out over a wide area. _Fluid like water, formless like air…_ Chakra enhanced his senses and would bolster his muscles at a moment's notice. _Strong as earth, fast as lightning and with a burning will of fire._ That was what it meant to be a shinobi of Konoha, the Fourth Hokage had told him. It had been a long time since Kakashi's days in the Anbu, but in that moment he was glad there were some things he could never forget.

He was but fifty paces away when he stopped moving, having spotted a body of water at the base of the tower and eying it with mistrust. It was not unusual for the fortresses of old to have a moat, and it was possible for rainwater to have collected there, but in this case its presence was just a little too convenient for somebody. A water ninja had created it there, most likely, to be used for their techniques.

Kakashi mentally readied his earth and lightning techniques. He inched closer, more slowly now.

Forty paces, and the water remained still.

Thirty paces.

Twenty paces.

He ducked and rolled forward, a sharp wind on the back of his neck as something large cut through the space where his head had been. _No sound or smell; trained in silent killing: Former mist Anbu. Counter with earth._ He twisted around in the midst of his roll and formed the Snake seal to send a chunk of rock bursting at his unseen opponent. Stone crashed into steel as the enemy raised his blade in defence.

 _Large weapon; unwieldy: Blocks own line of sight_.

Kakashi dove towards the enemy's blind spot, chakra blade already in hand and flickering with lightning as he drove it straight through the thick steel blade with a sound like a thousand chirping birds – only for his enemy to fall apart in a cascade of water.

 _Uses water clones; doesn't take unnecessary risks: Jōnin level. Adjust strategy._

He sprang to his feet and dashed through the foliage, ducking underneath low hanging branches and running without a sound, circling the tower and turning his head to spot the next attack wherever it came from. But instead of a dozen enemies springing their ambush from every direction, all he found was a solitary figure standing on the water at the base of the tower. _Something's off._ He forced himself to stop and take a closer look. His opponent stood there casually, giant cleaver held idly in one hand as he waited.

 _Massive frame; Giant sword: Former member of the Seven Swordsmen._

"Well, well, well," Kakashi called out, stalling for time as he calmed his heart and forced his thoughts back in order. "If it isn't Momochi Zabuza – or do you prefer _The_ _Demon of the Bloody Mist,_ these days?"

The man inclined his head slightly, and spoke with a deep, rumbling voice. "Hatake Kakashi, the second coming of the White Fang. I see your eye is as sharp as they say."

To Kakashi's Sharingan, the man's every gesture exuded arrogance and pride. Taken together with his Black Book entry… _His confidence stems from being larger and stronger than everyone else, resulting in an arrogance that borders on insecurity. I should try to keep this one talking._

"I have to say I'm surprised to see you here, Zabuza-san. I didn't think the likes of Gato could afford someone as skilled as you – and that to kill just one lousy little bridge builder. Or are you here as Gato's bodyguard?" There was no reply. Kakashi shrugged and continued. "If it's all the same to you I'd rather not fight you. Do you mind letting me pass? I'll only take a quick look inside and won't snoop."

The man's mouth was covered with bandages, but the minute twitches near the corner of his mouth were translated into a smug grin by the Sharingan. "Sorry. I'd hold you by the hand and take you right to Gato, but the runt still owes me some money." He flickered through a string of hand seals and Kakashi tensed up, but nothing seemed to happen. Then a thick mist began to form all around the tower, coloured blue with chakra, and Kakashi cursed inwardly.

 _If Gato escapes through that mist, I'll never be able to find him again!_

He dashed towards Zabuza, whose outline was already becoming harder to make out in the mist. Before he could move even ten paces a spiralling lance of water shot out from the surface of the lake, and Kakashi had to slam his hands onto the ground and raise a wall of earth to block the attack. Another blow crashed into the newly-formed rampart, and Kakashi was forced to reinforce the wall with more chakra just to keep it standing.

 _He has the terrain advantage: his techniques cost less chakra than mine, which means he can afford to keep me pinned while Gato gets away. I've no choice but to press the attack._

He stood up and formed the seals for his next technique, even as another attack struck home and rumbled his fortification.

* * *

 _-Five minutes earlier-_

"He's here," Haku said softly, as he watched the shadowy figure of Kakashi approach the ancient tower through the hemisphere of miniature ice mirrors arrayed before him. He was wearing his old Hunter-ninja outfit again, his elegant pink kimono having served its intended purpose over the past few days and now lying in a puddle on the floor. With one hand he picked up his white mask and lowered it onto his face, reducing the world to thin slits as a familiar coldness settled in his spine. _It's time._

There was no longer anything that needed to be said. Silently, Zabuza stood and drew his executioner's blade, shouldering the massive weapon as though it weighed nothing. Equally silent, Haku walked over to the only ice mirror in the room large enough to carry him, and stepped through to do his duty.

He found himself in a distant place, one he had seen many times before yet strangely unfamiliar in the black of night. The evening was soft and gentle, illuminated by a pale sickle moon. He inhaled deeply. In the area around the peaceful wooden building in front of him, the scent of cooked fish still lingered.

He closed the frozen portal behind him, to save chakra.

As he stepped out of the treeline, he saw that the front door of the house had received some new repairs, but that would not stop Haku. Following the scent of cooked fish, he edged along the side of the building towards the kitchen windows, where he cautiously peered inside. The place had been cleaned fastidiously, yet even so he could tell that a group of people had eaten there recently. With his eyes closed, he could almost sense it: The sound of carefree laughter, the taste of good food in their mouths and the warmth of their happiness as well.

Pressing his right hand to the glass, he formed a seal with his left, and pushed his chakra inwards. Within the room a thin sheet of ice appeared, hovering silently besides the legless kitchen table. Outside, Haku formed a second mirror against the face of the wall, and stepping through it he entered the kitchen.

There was the faint sound of someone snoring behind the paper walls that separated the kitchen from the living space.

Moving silently, Haku crouched down next to the sliding door. With one hand, he carefully lifted it off the ground, and quietly slid it open with the other. The living room had been divided in several partitions, but it was easy to tell which housed the bridge builder through the sound of his snoring. There in the corner of the room, a silhouette could just barely be made out in the sparse moonlight that passed through the paper walls. The bed that lay closest to the bridge builder's was empty: It seemed Hatake Kakashi had been forced to cancel his shadow clone technique after all, upon engaging with master Zabuza. Despite it being his own plan, Haku had felt almost certain that the infamous ninja would not let down his guard even in the midst of combat, but it seemed he had been wrong.

That left just one bed to cross before he could get to his target.

Naruto slept as messily as he behaved: Sprawled all over the bed and half across the floor, his arms and hair a tangled mess. Hesitating for just one moment, Haku stepped over the boy and continued onward. Behind him, he could hear him stir ever so slightly, but he did not seem to wake.

 _He's probably just having another one of his dreams._

The final bed was crossed as easily as the first, and then he was looking down at his target. The old bridge builder rested uneasily, his chest heaving up and down with the sound of each snore. Haku quietly drew a steel needle from his sleeve, and edged it towards the man's throat. All he had to do was pierce the man's jugular and it would be over, just as he had imagined.

And if anything gave it away, it was that simple fact: Plans _never_ went exactly as imagined.

Haku flared his chakra and spun around, raising a wall of ice to block the incoming attack even as the genjutsu faded away all around him. Another powerful blow caused the wall to shudder, but his defence held. On the other side of the translucent ice, Haku could just barely make out a masked ninja with silver-grey hair.

 _So you kept your guard up, after all._

Haku formed several more seals and planted his hands on the ground to leave the man a final farewell present. Then he created another portal beneath his feet and fell through the hole even as he closed it behind him. As he dropped rear-first onto the dirty forest floor, he heard master Zabuza's startled laugh behind him.

"I take it the obvious plan failed?"

Haku rose and dusted himself off. "Yes. It seems we're going ahead with the complicated plan, after all." He could not actually have justified trying anything truly convoluted without at least attempting something simple first. Fortunately, his failure meant that part one of the _real_ plan had just succeeded.

"Good," said Zabuza's water clone as he shouldered his executioner's blade and stepped out of the forested area to observe the house before them. "I liked that one better, anyway."

* * *

The masked boy cast his final technique and sank into the ground like a ghost. In the place where he had stood, frozen stalagmites stabbed up through the floor and kept spreading, cutting through the walls and roof and finally managing to pierce Kakashi's clone as well. The original Kakashi, who had been standing guard outside, watched it happen from both perspectives; watched as the long spears of ice split and pierced the building from every side until the entire structure rested upon no more than the ice itself. Finally the roof collapsed, groaning like a falling tree and shattering the building into pieces until only a ruined skeleton remained.

"My house," Tazuna wailed. "My beautiful house! Those bloody savages ruined my house!"

"What was that?" Naruto's eyes were wide with fear as he looked furtively around in every direction, the boy's drowsiness replaced with manic energy from the adrenaline. "That… who just… what _was_ that?"

Kakashi turned his attention back to the group of fearful genin and civilians. "That was the ice-release bloodline ability of the late Yuki clan, thought to have been wiped out in the Mist's bloodline purges. As soon as my clone went after Gato, this boy must have seen his chance and teleported here with that strange space-time technique of his." _And if I hadn't sensed him coming and moved everyone out of there in time, Tazuna would have lost a lot more than just his house._

Sakura gave him a frightened look. "Another clone? Sensei, I thought you didn't have the chakra to keep that up?"

 _I don't; that was the last one._ "There's no time," he said instead. "We need to run, and get off this island while we still can." He made his way through the forest with the others following close behind. They ran for not ten seconds before the mist started to thicken around them. Raising his forehead protector, his Sharingan confirmed his fears, for the mist shone blue with chakra. "Damn it all… He's already here."

A panicked voice spoke up. "Who's here? Sensei, what's happening?"

Kakashi half-expected it to be Inari, but found to his surprise that it was Sasuke who had spoken up: The Uchiha heir was shaking like a leaf, clutching a kunai in both hands. _I suppose he's only a child, after all._ Kakashi said some words of encouragement that he did not truly feel.

 _For as long as he is paid to hunt us, Zabuza will never let us leave. Killing Gato is more important than ever, now._

* * *

Near the tower, Kakashi's shadow clone stood up and formed the necessary seals, even as another attack struck home and shook his makeshift fortification. _The timing on this will need to be perfect._

Right as he moved to attack, the memories of his fallen clone caught up with him, and the distraction nearly cost him his life. He ducked and rolled to the side, throwing up a new earth barrier even as a blast of water shattered the one he had just left behind, chunks of wet mud hurtling in every direction.

 _Zabuza is still in the same position – now's the time._

Still holding his last seal, Kakashi _pushed_ his chakra out and over the fortification, filling the area that Zabuza was standing in. He could hear his opponent curse as the illusion of blinding light took hold: The genjutsu was designed to resemble a flash tag, though unlike a flash tag it would not blind Kakashi as well. With luck, Zabuza would not be able to tell the difference in time.

With one hand he hurled several kunai with explosive tags over the barricade in Zabuza's direction – the perfect memory of his enemy's location guiding his aim – and leaped out while forming the seals for the body-flicker technique. Right as the explosions detonated the technique pulled him towards the lake where Zabuza had been forced to hide in the water for protection, and unleashed his Electric Storm technique. Caught between thundering explosions above him and electricity arcing through the lake below, Zabuza's body was torn asunder and fell apart in a stream of water.

 _Another clone..?_

Almost immediately a vortex of water shot out of the mist from the other side of the lake, and Kakashi was forced to copy the technique, forming the seals to send an identical vortex crashing against the first. Countless water droplets fell to the ground like rain as the two techniques broke apart between them. In the distance, hidden within the ever-thickening mist, the enemy glowed blue with unreleased chakra.

 _I can't let this become a stamina battle. I have to end this now._

Kakashi leaped over the water, smashed through the tower gates with an earth technique and darted inside before the ancient timber had even collapsed onto the instantly dodged to the side as streaks of blue light came hurtling down the winding staircase, cutting deep into the stone near the entrance and showering him with dust and broken rock. At the top of the stairwell four heavily armoured samurai stood in a perfect defensive position to rain down attacks from on high, while behind him Kakashi could already hear Zabuza's clone forcing his way in through the ruined doorway.

 _I don't have time for this._

He turned and slammed his hands on the ground, blocking the exit with a wall of solid rock. Then he formed the tiger seal and filled his lungs with burning chakra, and spat a great ball of roiling fire up the stairwell. He chased the incandescent sphere up the stairs, leaping from railing to railing as the samurai desperately sought refuge from the blazing miniature sun, and then he was on top of them. They vainly tried to meet his blade with their own, but between his speed and the Sharingan they might as well have been standing still. His white tantō flashed this way and that, and the samurai collapsed around him, each with holes no larger than a pinprick where once a vital organ had been.

Below, the stone wall he had raised shattered with a mighty ringing blow. He hurriedly placed explosive tags in key locations within the stairwell, and as he ran to the very top the stairway collapsed in upon itself with a resounding crash. The gates to the upper level of the tower loomed up before him, undefended.

 _Now it's just the two of us, Gato._

Another explosive tag reduced the massive wooden doors to splinters. His white tantō was held at the ready, his muscles burned with chakra, and his Sharingan defined the world in shades of red as he burst into the room like an unstoppable force of nature. He found himself inside a massive chamber with a floor of shattered crimson stones. Great stone pillars held up the thatched roof. A grey couch stood in the centre next to a hole where something heavy had carved a chunk out of the floor. Thin strands of pale moonlight came in through the top windows, covering the couch and the surrounding area in a coat of silver.

There was no one there.

Kakashi's clone dispelled itself.


	14. Rest and Realization

**A/N:** Hey all. Long delay since the last chapter - Mea Culpa. If that happens again, just send me a message or review to tell me to stop being lazy, that usually works!

It's a more explicitly rational chapter this time around, which I know some of you have been asking for, so I hope you guys like it. I totally forgot to mention this last time, but the story is intended to be a solvable mystery in the same way as HPMOR, so it should have been possible to figure out Zabuza and Haku's real plan by this point.

(Also, you can totally earn incredibly valuable Rationality Points by publicly predicting this sort of thing in advance!)

* * *

The gaunt and haunted-looking rower slammed the door shut behind Kakashi and the others, fumbling to lock it with key and chain as the team of ninjas all poured into the hallway. Naruto stumbled and fell onto the floor, Sasuke collapsed against the doorpost in an attempt to regain his bearings while Sakura stood back and watched the door frantically for any sign of intrusion.

"I think we've lost 'em," Tazuna said in between wheezing gasps of breath, crouched over with his hands resting on his knees for support. "Many thanks for letting us in, old friend. If it weren't for you…"

Before Tazuna could say another word, Kakashi grabbed him by the shoulders and slammed him against the wall. "Tazuna! Explain to me why Gato would hire a former member of the Seven Swordsmen to kill a simple bridge builder. You said we were up against samurai; I would never have stayed here if I'd known we were up against jōnin-ranked ninjas. If you've been lying to us again…"

"No, I swear!" The old man raised both his hands in submission, his grey eyes showing as much fear for Kakashi as they had when they were being chased by Zabuza and his apprentice. "I didn't know. I must have stepped on Gato's pride one too many times, that's all!"

" _That's all?_ " Kakashi's Sharingan bored into Tazuna's eyes, drilling deep into his subconscious to uncover whatever secrets they held. "You really expect me to believe-"

"Wait, everybody stop, just stop!" Kakashi turned and found Naruto staring at him. The boy was sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway, looking as though he was afraid he'd stumble and fall over again if he tried to get up, and the expression in his eyes was mirrored by that of Sakura and Sasuke, and Inari and Tsunami and their new host as well. "I don't get what's happening! Who's attacking us? What are these seven swordsmen? What's going on?"

They were all arrayed in a semi-circle around Kakashi, staring at him imploringly in that way he had come to know so well – that look of men and women whose lives depended on his ability to protect them and make sense of senseless situations. "All right, everybody calm down." He slowly let go of Tazuna and lowered his headband back onto his Sharingan. "Let's all just take a breather for a moment, why don't we? We need to take some time to recover, recoup some energy and figure out what's really going on."

The group followed his lead towards the kitchen table, where they sat down as though preparing for a family dinner, some semblance of sanity returning to their eyes as they latched on to this specious return to normalcy. As their host hastily gathered up the evening's leftovers, Kakashi began his explanation, ignoring the trembling of his muscles from both the real and remembered exertion of before.

"The man we're up against is Momochi Zabuza, a missing ninja from the Hidden Mist," he began. "The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist are the personal bodyguard of the Eternal Mizukage, Yagura, who stopped aging ever since the Three-Tailed Beast was sealed within him as a child. Zabuza was a member of this group, until one day he staged a coup against the Mizukage and tried to take over as leader of the Mist. He was forced to flee the Land of Water, but he swore to his followers that he would return once he amassed enough wealth and power, and there are those who still await his return to this day."

"Wait, hold on," said Naruto, his voice uncharacteristically hesitant. "Why did he stage this coup?"

"Ah," said Kakashi, "well, there's some history behind that. Shortly after Yagura came to power, he instituted a new final academy exam that gave the Village Hidden in the Mist its moniker of _Bloody Mist:_ In order to create what he called 'True Ninjas', academy students were forced to fight their own comrades to the death before being allowed to graduate."

"That's _awful_ ," said Sakura.

"And stupid," said Sasuke, who seemed to have regained some of his composure. "With a rule like that you lose more than half your graduates: That can't possibly be worth it."

"Training new academy students is relatively cheap, and I think they intentionally paired the weakest students with the strongest, as a way of culling the weak and talentless." Kakashi shrugged with fake lightness. "Anyway, all of that became moot after an academy student by the name of Momochi Zabuza went berserk and slaughtered his entire graduation class during the test, as well as several proctors. After that, not even Yagura could continue to justify the practice, and so the bloodshed was ended."

There was a long period of silence as the others digested this information, perhaps finally coming to realize just what kind of enemy they were up against.

"Let me see if I understand this," Naruto said eventually, shifting on his seat. "There's a ninja called Yagura, who took over the Land of Water and ruled it for – how long?"

"Forty years," Sakura said distractedly.

"For forty years," Naruto continued, "not because of his leadership abilities, but because he is host to one of the nine most powerful daemons in the world which makes him immortal." There was not a shimmer of sympathy on the boy's face, though he surely must have realized that he and Yagura were the same in this regard. "He tried to train an army of remorseless assassins by ordering them to kill each other, and when _obviously_ this blew up in his face and some of them tried to kill him instead, the rebels fled the Land of Water and now we're forced to fight them and clean up his mess?"

Kakashi regarded his number-one-most-obstinate-student with a measured gaze. "We're not fighting for Yagura, Naruto. We're fighting Zabuza because he's trying to _kill_ us."

"I get that," said Naruto, his teeth clenching as fear gave rise to frustration, "but why are we even fighting him in the first place? I mean, he doesn't really care about us and we don't wanna fight him either, right? So why should we fight each other to the death just because some tyrant went mad with power forty years ago? Can't we just… I dunno, talk to Zabuza and make some kinda deal or something?"

Sasuke glanced up from his seat at the end of the table, his eyes peering out laconically through strands of dark hair, his own fear masked by what looked to be a veil of cynicism instead. "Sure, let's try and work with the man who's got a reputation for killing his own comrades – that sounds like a plan."

"But that's not his _fault,_ " Naruto countered. "He was ordered to do that. I mean, it does sound like he went berserk for a while after being forced to kill his own friend, but wouldn't anyone be traumatized after something like that? That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to talk to him somehow." He looked to Sakura for support, as the girl looked uncertainly between the two. "Why not try to bribe him at least?"

"Because he's working with Gato to kill me and destroy my village," a reedy voice replied, just as Sakura looked about to side with Sasuke. "He came after my family, and if you hadn't gotten us out in time..." The old bridge builder trailed off as all the ninjas stopped to stare at him. "Ah, begging your pardons, noble sirs and madam..."

Kakashi supressed a small smile at their surprised looks – the genin had probably forgotten the civilians were there; a classic error amongst even experienced ninjas.

"But that's my whole _point,"_ Naruto bit back _._ "Can't you see he's in exactly the same situation as your Kaiza was?" The boy turned to address Tsunami, who shrank back at the mention of her dead husband's name. "Zabuza's trying to get his country to muster up the courage to start a rebellion and overthrow a cruel tyrant, but he knows he can't succeed because he doesn't have any money or resources, and so he has to lie and cheat and do whatever it takes to win. He's in exactly the same position as you!"

A pall of silence fell over the group, none of the villagers and especially Tazuna managing to look Naruto in the eye. The boy hesitated, realizing he had said too much. "I didn't mean – I just…"

Kakashi gave the boy an exasperated look. "Naruto, we don't have time for this. Zabuza is after us right now, and believe me when I say that he won't stop to have a chat and talk things out." _Unless it's to boast about how great he is, anyway._ "We need a strategy. We need to understand – we need…" A sudden pall of exhaustion came over him as his last shadow clone's memories caught up with him.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura was giving him a worried look. "Are you all right?"

Kakashi held up his head with one hand as the world ran circles around him, though the trembling in his arm did little to alleviate the sudden bout of nausea. "I'm fine," he lied, giving her an unsteady smile. "I just got word back from my clone. Gato's left his holdout. He's gone."

Inari looked up for the first time since they entered the building. "What? How?"

"I don't know," Kakashi said wearily. He had to stop talking as someone (probably Tsunami) brought some rice to his mouth. He only barely remembered to taste it for poison as he chewed. "He was gone when I got there. Perhaps a ninja carried him out through the window, or it was that masked boy's space-time technique…" He frowned as he considered the possibility. Had he seen that boy transport Zabuza at any point, or only himself? "…or maybe my informant was simply wrong. I don't know."

Sakura looked furtively at the others, then back at him. "But then… what should we do?"

Someone handed Kakashi a glass (probably Tazuna), and he took a deep swig from it. The liquid burned hot in his throat, but as it gushed through his veins some of his strength seemed to return to him. Almost as an afterthought, he took a food pill from the front pocket of his armoured jacket and swallowed it. Some of his exhaustion at least was purely mental, caused by overuse of shadow clones, and from that he would recover soon enough. But the rest would require a good night's rest to restore, which he did not think he would receive any time soon.

He rested his feet on the table and sat back in his chair, glass in hand.

"Hold on. I need to think…"

* * *

Twilight had turned to midnight, and the sickle moon watched over the land below, adrift in a sea of stars that was mirrored by the ocean surrounding the island. From on top of a raised hillock standing close to the quays, Zabuza measured the land with a general's eye, seeing not a simple fishing village but a future battlefield.

"We've lost them," his minion opined.

"No. We have them exactly where we want them," Zabuza countered. "Your plan is working perfectly, Haku. All we need do now is flush them out."

"…yes, master Zabuza."

Haku was sulking behind his mask, Zabuza knew, and he could not help but smile at the thought. The boy's reluctance to kill had proved frustratingly resilient, and there had been times when he wished that he had just left the boy lying by the roadside where he had found him, but he had to admit he found it mildly endearing as well. Not that he would ever confess this fact to anyone else, or even to himself unless he felt sufficiently certain no Yamanaka clan members were around to hear him think it.

In the distance, hidden in the black of night, a flotilla approached from underneath the great stone bridge: Long wooden boats, packed to bursting with armed men. The boats slid onto the coast in silence. As they embarked upon the island, Zabuza saw that most of them were no more than rowdy thugs and common bandits, but the lead figures carried an air of quiet danger around them. The foremost of these began to make their way up the hillock towards where Zabuza and Haku stood.

"Say what you will about Gato, but he knows how to raise an army at short notice," Zabuza murmured appreciatively. It could not compare to the might of even a handful ninjas, but still. _Not bad for a civilian._

The ones who approached him were not armoured, but from their bearing there could be no doubt that they were samurai. The first was slight and wore a grey vest, with grey hair and purple markings running down his cheeks. The other was muscled and bare-chested, scarred and wearing an eye-patch. "I am Zōri," said the first, before pointing to the second. "That's Waraji. Gato said to follow your orders."

Zabuza nodded towards the village. "Burn it down. Find the ninjas, and kill anyone in your path."

The two of them relayed his orders, and soon the entire force was on the move. From their elevated position, Zabuza and his minion watched as his army poured down to engulf the village like a swarm of ants led by torch-wielding fireflies.

 _Are you comfortable on your throne, Yagura? Please stay seated just a little longer… soon I'll be coming for you, as well._

* * *

Kakashi closed his eyes and relaxed his thoughts, allowing his concerns and confusion to come to the fore of their own accord. So much had happened already, with no sign of stopping: So many events that made no sense. It was too much to tackle all at once, but fortunately Minato-sensei had taught him a technique to deal with that as well.

In his mind he stood once again inside the chamber of the ancient tower, its gates and pillars casting long shadows across the empty room where his informant had believed with such certainty Gato would be. "If he was never there, why was Zabuza defending the place?" he mused aloud. "If he escaped, why was his samurai bodyguard still there? Or if it was a trap, why was there not more of an ambush?"

"Do you mean Gato?" Sakura asked uncertainly. "I don't really know what happened out there, but there's not really any way to know for sure, is there?"

"That masked boy probably just carried him out through a window," Sasuke said. "Makes sense that he would leave some Samurai behind to slow you down – they wouldn't be of any use to him, anyway."

Kakashi shook his head. None of the options made much sense to him; none of it made the outcome of the day's events feel like the only logical conclusion. He did not stop there, did not attempt to solve the puzzle before he had all the pieces, but guided his thoughts onwards and to the next.

"Wherever Gato is, he's out of our grasp now," Tazuna muttered. "Whether they're from the Mist or the Land of Fire, it seems tyrants always get away with letting others do their dirty work."

The image that appeared before Kakashi next was that of the masked boy, staring at him as he stood over Tazuna's empty bed, before destroying the house and disappearing into the ground. _He went after Tazuna while I appeared to be gone, which makes sense. If that's the case, then they planted a false trail to make me go after Gato as a distraction, which explains that as well._

But his confusion remained, and so he kept on thinking. _A ninja must look underneath the underneath._ The masked boy had almost seemed to expect Kakashi. Why would he attack if he thought Kakashi would be there? And if it was only an attack of opportunity, how had Zabuza arrived there so quickly as well?

"Ah, I'm very sorry, Tsunami-san," he heard Naruto say haltingly.

"There's no need to apologize for your words, Naruto-san. It's true that we lied to you, and so we can't rightly claim to be better than the enemy. We're the ones who should be asking for your forgiveness."

"No, that's not – I mean that too, but I'm saying I'm sorry we let Gato get away. We promised to avenge your husband's death, and… well I mean we didn't really promise anything, but still. You begged us to help you, and all we achieved is that your house is destroyed now, too."

"Forget it," Inari said sullenly. "He's gone now. It's not like it matters anymore."

More images flashed through Kakashi's mind, these ones separate and disjointed. He saw the way Zabuza had waited for him at the tower. The way he had attacked at range, wearing Kakashi down rather than trying to kill him quickly. _Did he realize I was using a shadow clone? But how could he have known?_ Finally he saw himself, slamming Tazuna against the wall, demanding answers that the man did not have and could not give. _Why hire someone as expensive as Zabuza to kill a simple bridge builder?_ The image of Tazuna's house, cut apart by Samurai, appeared before him. _Why wait until after Tazuna hired ninjas before trying to kill him? Why not just wait until after our contract ended and then blow up his bridge with him on it? It's almost as if…_

The truth came to him not as a sudden shock, but rather a slow dawning realization. "Oh, no…"

Sakura looked up at him in alarm. "What is it?"

"They're not after Tazuna," he explained. "Their true purpose has always been to kill _me_. They intend to collect the bounties put on my head by my enemies through the black market, as listed in the Black Book, and to steal this left eye of mine."

"Eh? Say what?" The bridge builder lowered his glass, which he had been about to empty along with the remainder of the bottle. "Surely, you mean that they're trying to kill you first, so that they can get to me and my bridge afterwards?"

"No," said Kakashi, "I'm saying this was never about your bloody bridge. Do you understand? Your bridge is worth nothing, you stubborn old fool! You dragged us into your petty conflict with your lies, and now my enemies are coming to kill us all." Seeing Tazuna's dismayed expression, Kakashi passed a hand over his face and rubbed his brow wearily. "I'm sorry, but you were just a part of their scheme, Tazuna-san."

"That doesn't make any sense," Sasuke said, frowning. "If they were really after you, why would that masked boy sneak into the house to kill Tazuna? Unless…" His eyes widened in realization.

"Exactly." Kakashi nodded in recognition of his student's unspoken answer. "They did that just so I would _think_ that they were really after Tazuna, in order to trick me into trying to defend him and waste chakra when I would otherwise have attacked or run away. From the start they've been playing at _third level_."

"Third level?" Naruto looked at him in confusion. "I thought you said that nobody ever plays at third level, because you're supposed to go for the simplest possible strategy that'll do the trick."

Indeed, the more complicated the strategy, the more crucial it was for everything to go just right, which meant that no sane person would ever go for something more complicated than a second-level plan… except that against a ninja as talented as Hatake Kakashi, who only used shadow clones to fight and who used meditation training and stimulants so that he could stay awake for weeks if need be, who had the Sharingan to see through any attack and who could outmatch almost any opponent in terms of raw skill, a third-level plot really might be the _simplest possible strategy that could work_.

 _And if the second step of the plan was for me to waste my chakra, then the third step will almost certainly be…_

He stood up sharply, his growing sense of urgency finally catching up with the severity of the situation. His chair collapsed onto the floor behind him. "We need to go. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke. We're going to sneak out of the village, head for the coast and leave this island right now."

"But… what about the others?" Naruto gestured towards the frightened civilians. "We can't just leave them behind! If you're right, then we're the only reason they're in danger to begin with!"

"Naruto, if Tazuna hadn't lied to us, none of this would ever have happened! In fact, the only reason they're in danger is because _we're still here_." He staggered towards the door, in the hope that the rest of his team would follow if he just led the way. "I will _not_ let my comrades die for the sake of yet another bloody bridge!"

Just as he reached the entrance, there was the muted sound of panicked shouting coming through the door. As their host made to undo the locks, Kakashi focussed chakra to his ears and opened himself to the world around him. A sick churning swelled in his gut as he heard all that he feared: The village was surrounded, under attack by a host of enemies, and with that all hope of a quiet escape was lost. A former Anbu like Kakashi could have slipped past the enemy lines unnoticed, but his genin team lacked the skills to do the same. They could not leave – not with Zabuza's water clones watching, not with that boy and his strange technique that let him teleport anywhere he wanted in an instant.

(If the first step was to trick Kakashi into defending Tazuna, and the second step of the plan was to drain him of chakra, then the third step would be to force him out into the open and finish him with overwhelming force. That was the conclusion he had come to, but it had come ever so slightly too late.)

"We'll gather the resistance," Tazuna said dolefully, his empty glass still in hand as he stood inside the dimly lit corridor, resting his body against a wall. "You're right… all of this is my fault for bringing you here, and you shouldn't have to suffer because of it. You make a run for it. We'll – we'll hold them off, and defend the village as best as we can."

"We're gonna help you," Naruto said desperately, turning his hopes to Kakashi. "We will, right? We _have_ to. To protect the innocent and fight back against the darkness… Kakashi-sensei, this is everything the Fourth Hokage always talked about! If we run away now, then what's the _point_?"

Kakashi gave his student a weary look. _The enemy couldn't have known that Naruto would react this way, could they?_ But then, they could not have known how Kakashi would react either, yet they had predicted him perfectly all the same. _Even_ _after everything that's happened, am I still missing something?_

His apprehension growing by the second, a new thought presented itself to the front of his mind. "Naruto… That local girl you spent so much time with: What _exactly_ did you two end up talking about?"

As Naruto grew an expression even more horrified than the one he had before, Sasuke turned to his teammate and spoke. "Local girl? Naruto, what is he talking about?"

Naruto began spluttering in response, but Sakura talked over him, distractedly. "Sensei's referring to that girl Naruto's been besotted with since we got here. You really didn't notice?" Then her expression changed as she realized what Kakashi had meant. "Oh no… Naruto, you _didn't_!"

Kakashi quietly leaned his head against the doorpost as the others scolded Naruto for his mistake. He wanted nothing more than to collapse on the spot and wake up when all of this was over, but he still had enemies to fight and a team to save – he was on a mission and he could not afford to sleep just yet.

 _I suppose this is where I find out whether I'm really as clever as I think I am. Because right now, for what might be the third time in my life… I think I really need to be._

* * *

 **A/N:** So, was the reveal satisfying? Did you guys see Zabuza and Haku's real plan coming, or was it a huge surprise? Write me a review and let me know!

(The next chapter is somewhat delayed and will probably be posted around the 8th of May.)


	15. Strategy and Sympathy

It was hard to tell that the village was under attack. There was panicked shouting in the streets and screaming in the distance, but that could have been for any number of reasons. The flames that were spreading to the rooftops at the edge of the village might have been some natural disaster, and the figures crawling along the horizon might only have been carrying torches to illuminate their path in the dark. But when Naruto focussed chakra to his nose he could smell a foul stench upon the air, and though he had never sensed it before, there was no mistaking it for anything other than the scent of death.

"…but sensei, you have already used up most of your chakra," Sakura was saying, sounding almost pleading, though Naruto was not sure what she was pleading for. "Are you really going to be all right?"

Their teacher gave them what Naruto thought was meant to be a reassuring smile, but it was hard to tell through the mask. His right eye, however, carried all the intended meaning. "Don't worry. I may not look like it, but I'm actually quite a skilled ninja. I'll be fine." Using the tip of a kunai he drew a drop of blood from his thumb, and after forming the necessary seals, he placed his hands on the ground. The expulsion of air that followed saw a pack of hounds manifested before him: Six ninja dogs of varying breeds and sizes, ranging from a tiny pug to a truly massive wolfhound.

"There is a ninja called Zabuza on this island, accompanied by a young man with chakra like none of the others," Kakashi told the pack. "Can you find them for me?"

The dogs barked their acknowledgement, and scattered on his command.

There was something off about even trained ninja dogs being able to follow commands like that, but there were other things that required Naruto's attention. Their sensei was swaying visibly from the effort of standing up, and it was clear to Naruto that this technique carried a hefty price in terms of chakra, but there was also no point in repeating what Sakura had already said.

"Then what about us?" he asked instead. He indicated his teammates and the three civilians who stood huddled together behind him, their eyes searching frantically for any sign of the enemy. "What do you want us to do, sensei?"

Hatake Kakashi gave him a contemplative look. "What I want is for you to stay safe, and hide in the house with the others while I take care of everything. But, there is a difference between what I want and what is right: In your position I would probably fight and protect the villagers despite the risk, so I can't rightly tell you to do otherwise. Who you are and what it is you need to do… that is something you'll have to decide for yourselves."

With those words their teacher departed, and then they were alone: A team of genin and three civilians, standing together in the doorway of the rower's house, watching the village slowly descend into chaos.

Sasuke sniffed, breaking the silence. "And he's gone again. Useless bastard."

"You can't say that," Sakura protested. "He's risking his life for us, taking the fight against Zabuza and that masked boy away from the village so we have a chance to survive. He's a great ninja." Her expression fell. "Even if he can be a little unreliable sometimes…"

Naruto ignored them both. "We're gonna help the villagers, right? I mean, after everything that's happened and everything we've done, we can't just sit here and hide."

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "Don't be _stupid_ , Naruto. There's one, maybe two jōnin-level ninja out there, and even if they don't really care about us they'll still kill us if we get in the way. Plus there are all those bandits and samurai, and we don't have any real combat experience. We should hide."

"Kakashi would've fought in our place," Naruto protested. "He said so himself."

"Kakashi-sensei was already a _jōnin_ when he was our age! We're just not like him. And as amazing as he is, I think he might have forgotten what it was like to be young." Her brow furrowed. "That is, if he was ever even young at all…"

Naruto turned towards his other companion for support: Sasuke was fingering the hilt of his sword again, a slight tremor in his hand and a dangerous glint in his eyes. "I'm not going to run away and cry again," he said. "If these people attack us, we'll fight them, and they'll come to regret their mistake."

Sakura looked from one to the other in desperation. Then she turned towards the civilians standing in the doorway, who were staring at the three ninjas in fearful silence. Finally she bowed her head in resignation. "This is madness, complete and utter madness… but it seems that I'm mad as well. Fine then, we'll fight." She pointed an angry finger at Naruto. "But if I die it'll be _your_ fault, you got that?"

Naruto winced as his imagination threw up an image of her broken body lying in some nameless, muddy street. "Ah… got it."

In the distance, manoeuvring through a cluster of panicked civilians scattering in every direction, a group of familiar people approached, though one particular pretty face was conspicuously absent.

"The resistance," Tazuna cried in relief, as he met up with the two dozen rugged and ragged fighters and greeted them all in turn. When he came back there was a grim smile on his face and a stubborn hope in his eyes. "Looks like you ninjas won't have to fight alone – Kaiza's army stands with you, for better or for worse. Now, what would you have us do?"

Naruto waited patiently for one of the others to reply, but found instead that they were looking at him. "Me?" Naruto pointed an unsteady finger at himself. "But…"

"Of course _you_ ," Sakura said irately. "You're the reason we didn't just go back to Konoha. You're the one who trained the villagers, and you're the one who insisted we should stay and fight. Now tell us your plan already, before I recover my senses and change my mind."

Black dread flooded Naruto's systems once again, though now it was a very different kind of fear that pulsed through his veins. He wanted to point out how misguided Sakura's argument was – that strategy was not the same as leadership and that rank should be determined by ability and not some misguided sense of fairness, but a quiet voice in the back of his mind gave him pause.

 _This is what I always wanted, isn't it? Now, for the first time in my life, I have the chance to show them that I can really help improve this world…_

"Right," he said, slowly nodding to himself. _I can do this._ He breathed deeply as he considered the situation, the enemy they were up against and the tools available. A whole string of cunning ploys and stratagems absorbed from half-read books and scrolls flashed through his mind, and were immediately sorted into categories ranging from 'not relevant' to 'worse than useless'. Mentally, he could hear his teacher's voice berating him: _Being smart is not the same as being clever. The best option is usually the simplest possible strategy that can be made to work._

 _Rather than being clever, what could I do that I would actually expect to work?_

"Have the resistance gather all the civilians to the centre of the village," he told Tazuna. _Can't hide them inside the buildings, they'd just burn it down along with the rest of the village._ "Get them to throw up barricades where the roads are narrowest, use barrels or garbage or whatever else you've got lying around. We'll buy you as much time as we can, but it'll be up to you to stop them from getting through."

Tazuna gave a brief nod, and then he and the resistance scattered, shouting instructions to the rest of the panicking villagers as they went.

"Buy them time?" Sakura repeated sceptically. "There must be scores of enemies out there; they'll run right over us. How are we supposed to-"

"You're right," he said, cutting her off. "As ninjas we're faster and stronger than normal people, but we can still get overwhelmed. So we don't let them do that. We'll use hit and run tactics, using our speed to pick our battles, and whenever there's too many of them to fight we'll fall back to the barricades, let them bunch up and hit them with area-of-effect attacks. Then we keep doing that until they run away."

"Simple, but effective." Sasuke's head dipped slightly in acknowledgement. "It should work. But what if Zabuza and his teleporting ally show up? What do we do then?"

"We'll have to trust in Kakashi-sensei to take care of them," Naruto said quietly. "But if he fails, and they do come here…" He formed the necessary hand seals, and half a dozen identical clones appeared besides them. "Then my clones will distract them for as long as possible, while we _run_."

* * *

On a faraway hillock, overlooking the seaside village, Haku took his place by his master's side. Below them the battle was unfolding, though it might more aptly be called a slaughter. The defenceless civilians were hemmed in and herded to the centre like cattle, and while many of them escaped or were captured, many more were cut apart and left to die along the road by the drunk and undisciplined bandits. The fires that had been started all along the outer ring of the village claimed more lives still, and the scent of burning flesh reached them even here.

Zabuza breathed in deeply, his bare chest swelling in size as he took in the foul air. "Ah, the smell of battle. It's been far too long since we had ourselves a good scrap, wouldn't you agree, Haku?"

It was not Haku's place to disagree. He kept his gaze dead ahead, focusing his attention on the array of miniature ice portals that he was using to watch the battle. "As you say, Master Zabuza."

Zabuza chuckled, a deep throaty sound that reverberated within his mighty chest and carried far through the still night air. "You should be pleased, Haku. All of this, everything that's happened, is exactly as you planned. The White Fang must be almost out of chakra by now, and he and his little genin are trapped inside the village like cornered rats. I never imagined you'd come up with a plan this merciless, you really have outdone yourself. But I still don't get how you managed to predict Kakashi so well; how did you know he wouldn't just abandon the civilians the moment he first saw us?"

"It's obvious if you take your beliefs seriously," Haku said with just a touch of ice in his voice. He wasn't sure if his master was provoking him intentionally or if his remark really had been intended as a compliment, but he resolved not to let it get to him either way. He was a shinobi, after all. "You've said many times that Leaf ninjas are too soft and that this makes them weak. However, if they really were weak they could never have won three shinobi world wars. So the correct conclusion is that they are hypocrites, motivated not to do good but by a desire to have others think of them as being good."

"Oh?" His master was looking at him with good humour. "What difference does that make?"

Haku turned away from his crystal ice mirrors and gave Zabuza his full attention. "If we forced Hatake Kakashi to choose between his life and any number of civilians, he would simply turn away, since if he were truly that good a person he would be dead. But if the choice is between the certain death of a civilian he knows and a mere risk to his own life, then he will choose the latter in order to avoid having to think of himself as a bad person. To exploit this, all we need do is to confront him with variations of this same choice, over and over until finally the effect is the same as if he chose to sacrifice his life after all."

"I see," said Zabuza, and Haku could see that he was smirking now. "Then if you understand him so well, tell me: What is Kakashi doing right now?"

Haku followed his master's gaze to the portal array, which showed that the situation had changed: The civilians were busy constructing some sort of makeshift barricade in the centre of the village which they huddled and hid behind, while the Konoha genin harassed and delayed the bandit forces. Hatake Kakashi was nowhere to be seen, and instead the defence seemed to be led by-

 _No._

"What is he _doing_?" Haku frantically adjusted the view offered by his ice mirrors, as if that would change the reality that they revealed. _The White Fang is supposed to either lead an attempt to break through our forces and flee, or else hide somewhere along with the rest of his genin team, not leave his students out in the open without protection!_ It made no sense. _The kind of person who talks about having something important to protect would never_ _just_ _abandon his team like that, not in a million years!_

"He's only pretending to abandon them," Haku said, realizing the truth of it as he spoke. "He's hoping to convince us that attacking his team is pointless since he does not care. However, he must realize it costs us nothing to call his bluff and attack them regardless, so why would he think that this could ever work?"

"It's because he's using them as bait," Zabuza said smugly. "He _meant_ for you to arrive at that conclusion and so trick us into attacking them. If we go after his genin now, he'll either try to escape the village while we're distracted or he'll spring a trap on us. Since he knows I use water clones, his real plan is probably to kill you before you can teleport away, and then flee. A clever ploy, but we won't fall for it."

Haku deflated. _That makes sense, and yet… would the White Fang really risk his students' lives like that?_

Then again, the infamous ninja _was_ known as cold-hearted Kakashi, the friend-killer. Just as Haku was about to conclude that his instincts about the man had simply been wrong, another thought occurred to him: Now the genin team was effectively safe from attack by the two of them, at no cost to himself, which meant that if Haku's first guess had been right then Kakashi's plan worked perfectly.

 _Hatake Kakashi could not possibly have predicted that master Zabuza would react like this… could he?_

Haku opened his mouth to warn his master, and immediately closed it again. _This is what I wanted, isn't it? Now the battle is just between us and the White Fang, with no need for the others to die._ He turned to look at his master, who was observing the village intently, muscles coiled and ready to spring at the first sign of his enemy. _But I'm my master's weapon... I'm not supposed to have any goals of my own._

… _surely the White Fang could not have predicted that I would react like this, as well?_

Haku's thoughts were disturbed by a sound coming up from behind them: A pitter-patter of padded paws upon the moist soil, slowly drawing closer, approaching through the darkness at an almost leisurely pace. The two of them turned around in alarm, their weapons at the ready as they waited for the enemy, Haku gripping his tantō and his needles while Zabuza wielded his great cleaver.

From out of the darkness trod a small brown pug, with a dark snout and floppy ears. It was wearing a small blue vest that marked it as a spirit animal, and in its mouth there was a scroll which it gently placed upon the ground before them. The animal looked up at them expectantly, as though waiting for a reward, but when none was forthcoming it simply vanished with a small popping sound.

There was a long, silent look that passed between Haku and his master, neither of them quite sure what to make of this development.

"It's probably trapped," Zabuza suggested at last.

"Yes," Haku agreed. Forming his unique hand seals with one hand, he _pushed_ his chakra towards the scroll and formed several small ice mirrors that lifted the parchment up into the air, slowly unfolding it so that the text pointed directly away from the two of them. Sweat ran down his brow: Using such small portals required much less chakra, but keeping so many of them open at once still drained him. Finally he viewed the opened letter through his mirror array, preventing any possibility of harm.

"Dear Momochi Zabuza and Haku-kun," he read aloud, flinching only slightly at the mention of his name. "I deeply regret that we got off on the wrong foot before, and so I would like to take some time off from our busy schedules to repair our damaged relationship. I see no reason why we should be enemies, and I intend to prove my sincerity in this regard by offering you a worthwhile gift. If this proposal is of interest to you, please meet me at the site of the explosion. Sincerely, Hatake Kakashi."

Zabuza frowned in confusion. "What explosion?"

There was a flash of blinding light followed by a sound like rolling thunder. When they turned around they saw a solitary figure standing right in the centre of Tazuna's massive stone bridge that spanned across the water, seeming to wait patiently as he looked in their direction.

Haku could sense his master tensing up, his powerful chakra thickening the night air with anticipation. "It's a trap," he said with certainty. "You mustn't go."

"How could it possibly be a trap? Kakashi chose a place surrounded by water from all sides, with no cover and nowhere to hide from me. He doesn't have the chakra to keep making shadow clones, while I'm in no danger as long as I use this cloned body. It's the perfect time and place for me to fight him."

Somehow this only made Haku more anxious, even _more_ convinced that it was a trap for all that the evidence pointed the other way, but he did not understand how that could be and so he said nothing.

His master's muscles relaxed and some of the pressure lifted from the air. "No… I think I know what he intends to do." The bandages twitched in tandem with his smile. "Let's see what he has to offer us."

* * *

Sakura did not need to focus chakra to her eyes in order to make out each individual opponent amongst the band of angry men opposing her in the middle of the street. Many of them were savage looking brigands wielding crude knives and axes who seemed to have made murder and pillaging their trade, but others looked to be angry youths drunk on alcohol and adrenaline, or gaunt men wearing the same conical hats she had seen so many times before in the Land of Waves. _They're probably just poor locals, without money to buy food or clothes, who turned to Gato out of desperation…_

"C'mon big Lu, it's only a little girl! You're not scared of a little girl, are you?"

"Shut up, you saw what she did to Chao," growled Lu, who seemed a bit smarter than the others – or perhaps just a mite less intoxicated. "Why don't you go, if you're such a big brave fighter, huh?"

"Fine then, watch this!" One of the larger brutes finally scrounged up the courage to charge at her – which involved having to jump over the body of the last one who attempted the same – and with a loud roar launched himself at her. With practiced ease now she tossed her shuriken at the target, just as she had done at the academy hundreds of times before, and as always the throwing star struck its mark. He stumbled forward and gurgled, pawing vainly at his throat as blood poured out of his mouth before finally collapsing onto the ground. The others took a step back, visibly paling as they watched him slowly die.

 _Exactly like at the academy_ , she repeated to herself. Only, unlike her training under Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei, the targets moved and kept moving even after she hit them. Even now her opponent was rolling around on the mud as though he were on fire, but the dark liquid that was pooling around him did nothing to put out the pain. It took what seemed like long minutes for him to finally stop, and when a foul stench rose up from his body she knew that he was dead at last.

 _It's not so bad if they're far away. I'm better with throwing weapons anyway. I don't really need my sword at all._

Some of the local drunks – bandits, she corrected herself – started throwing projectiles of their own at her, but they were thrown in wide arcs and painfully easy to dodge. She stepped left, right, then backward and forwards as she dodged each thrown bottle, spear and knife in turn.

 _It's just like dancing, really. It's just a little more important that I don't miss a step._

Finally there were no more projectiles to be thrown and the thugs went back to hurling curses. That was when she began tossing shuriken into their ranks once more, and they immediately scattered with panicked shouts and frightened yelps.

She knew she should feel pleased about that: They were the enemy, and as a shinobi, it was her duty to destroy them. _Rule number twenty-four: A Shinobi must not show mercy to his enemies, for they shall show none in return,_ she duly recited. She could almost imagine Iruka-sensei congratulating her on getting the answer right, saying that she was simply doing her duty and that she should not feel guilty about it. Only, a small treacherous voice in the back of her mind insisted, and kept stubbornly repeating, that she did not feel nearly bad _enough_.

The bandits were grouping together again, and Sakura was shaken out of her reverie as she realized they were preparing themselves for a charge. This time they came at her like a roaring stampede, and it was all she could do to run up the wall of the nearest house and leap onto the thatched roof. _Just like climbing trees_.Peering out over the edge, she could see that they had clustered up at the base of the building, tearing into the structure with picks and axes, howling in impotent rage and almost climbing over each other in their urge to get at her and tear her apart.

 _Cluster them together and hit them with area-of-effect attacks: That was the plan, right, Naruto?_

She formed the Snake seal followed by the Rat, and then she _pushed_ her chakra outwards, letting it waft over the group like an invisible perfume. She probed and prodded, pushing her chakra deep into their minds, and focussing on the very concept of the word _nightmare_. Of deep, dark fears suppressed and thought long forgotten, only to come bubbling to the surface in one's most vulnerable moment…

She could see their eyes widening as the Hell-viewing genjutsu took root. Then their screams turned to fright, their arms flailing wildly as they spluttered incoherently, until finally the whole group descended into mindless panic. Some ran, some cowered, and still others started hacking away at their own comrades – perhaps thinking themselves surrounded by monsters, or perhaps filled with paranoid delusions of persecution and betrayal. As soon as the technique was complete she went back to throwing shuriken. She picked each of them off in turn, taking out one foe at a time with meticulous precision, until finally the bandits were all dead or fleeing. A small mound of corpses lay piled against the face of the building she stood on.

 _Is it possible that I am, maybe, just a little too good at this?_

The thought did not seem fair to her. What kind of test was life supposed to be, if you could lose points for doing your work too well? And yet, that small hidden part of her was convinced that it was true, and that it could not possibly be any other way.

She shook her head and forced herself to return to the present. She was standing on a slanted roof, in a village surrounded by enemies, and the fire that had gripped the village's outskirts was creeping ever closer. _Where are Naruto and Sasuke? We should be working together. Are they holding up their part of the streets?_ She cast her eyes over the village, looking for signs of her blond companion, who had sent his clones to cover a wide area. When she finally found him, her eyes went wide and she cursed inwardly.

… _what in the name of the Sage does he think he's doing?_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ Hey all, I'm posting this from sunny and beautiful Greece. I hoped you liked the chapter. I will do my best to post the next chapter next week on sunday and get back to something approximating a consistent update schedule.

In the meantime, why not post a review to let me know what you think? Are you excited to see how the final fights of the act will develop? Any predictions you want to make to earn precious rationality points? Anything in the chapter you did or did not like? Remember, the more feedback a writer gets, the more inspired he is to write!

(PS: Something seems wrong with the update notifications - did anyone not get notified that there was an update yesterday the 6th of May? If so, please send me a message to let me know.)


	16. Battle at the Barricades

**A/N:** I just received word that my grandmother is in the hospital. She has always been an unbelievably strong, laconic woman in my eyes, with an ability to laugh at injuries that made my skin crawl just to hear them described. At one time, she told me she was in so much pain that she couldn't stand for three days because the night before she had crawled around on her (severely injured) knees to turn of the standby button on the TV - because she was afraid it would take up too much power if she left it on all night - and yet she was more upset when I told her afterwards what a stupid thing that was to do. And then she went straight into the kitchen to cook for me anyway, because after all I had come all that way just to see her. Another time, she was operated on her leg, and she spent the entire time (awake) joking with the surgeon about how funny it looked. I don't know if it's because she survived the war or if it's because she grew up differently or if she was just that crazy a person, but I always admired her attitude. She used to say that she didn't really mind pain as long as she has her family - she absolutely hated the idea of being lonely you see, and she was terrified of growing senile and losing all of her memories (she would proudly remind everyone of the endless french poems which she could recall by heart), but pain, pain she could handle.

So of course she got a brain tumor, and now she stands to face her absolute worst nightmare: Forced into a foreign place far away from home, not knowing where she is or what's going on and sometimes forgetting even the names of her own children. Because fuck reality, that's why.

So, this would probably be a good time to remind everyone that we're all living in a nightmarish deathworld, one far worse than I or any other author could possibly come up with, through the sheer virtue of such a thing being **real**. The sheer horror of it is difficult to comprehend, and I do believe we were evolved specifically to be unable to understand it for the sake of our own sanity - for like a monster straight out of the Cthulhu mythos, it can drive you to despair if you look at it too closely. And yet, you have to remember that these things do not go away just because you don't think about them, as one day they will come for you as well.

I haven't talked about it much, but one of the reasons I started writing rational fanfiction was because I hoped I could help with Eliezer Yudkowsky's efforts to make the world a saner place by teaching rationality through fiction. And my decision to pursue a finance career was partly inspired by the hope that one day I could amass enough resources to maybe help in the effort to fight back against this sort of thing. I dunno. Maybe I just watched too much Naruto as a kid, but the idea of just doing nothing and waiting for everyone to die seems maddening to me.

All right, enough self-indulgence. Thanks for letting me rant for a bit, guys. We now return to your regularly scheduled Naruto fanfiction.

* * *

The enemies were drawing closer now, pouring through the village streets like a flood from a broken dam. In the heart of the village, the villagers of the Land of Waves prepared to make their stand, surrounded from all sides by fire and foes and the ocean itself. Theirs was no organized defence: Crying children and civilians were running mindlessly in every direction amidst screams and panicked shouting, while others huddled in corners and sobbed quietly to themselves.

"Get up!" cried Tazuna, trying desperately to make himself heard. "Get up you bloody cowards! Build those barricades, use everything you have! Gato's savages are almost here!"

But there were some in that body of civilians, who stood stoically amidst the milling chaos. A backbone of old men, for the most part, made resolute by desperate courage. They alone seemed ready to offer resistance, as they alone remembered the last time there was a flood. As the enemy closed in on them others rallied around them, for even the most cowardly cats may find courage, when the water is pouring in from all sides and they have nowhere left to run.

Inari grabbed one of the villagers by his sleeve. "Giichi-san! Do you still have your hunting crossbow? Come help defend the barricades!" No sooner had he dragged one civilian over to the defence of the village or he moved on to the next, until finally a fighting force was starting to form.

"He's inspiring them," Tsunami said with quiet wonder, as she placed another wooden box upon the makeshift wall that closed off the narrow street. "My son is growing up to be a leader."

 _You mean he's shaming them,_ Naruto thought, as he added another scroll's worth of stakes and caltrops to the barricades. Inari had strapped an old frying pan on his head as a makeshift helmet, which made him look even more ridiculous than usual despite the crossbow in his hands and the stubborn look in his eyes. _They're ashamed that he has more courage than them despite being only a kid._ The women and elderly had joined in as well, badgering the men to get up and help with the defence, and soon most of the village was grabbing weapons or pulling furniture from their houses to add to the barricades. _We can do this. We can-_

"Naruto! What do you think you're _doing_?" Naruto jolted upright, an instinctive reaction instilled in him through years of being caught dozing off during academy classes under Iruka-sensei. But when he turned around, in place of his former teacher he found a furious kunoichi looming over him.

"Ah… Sakura? Uhm, I'm helping with the defence? I mean, my clones are harassing the enemy like I said, but it would be needlessly dangerous to use my real body so I thought-"

" _We're_ using our real bodies out there," she bit out. "You can't just sit here safely with the civilians while we're out risking our lives!" Naruto was about to protest that her complaint was illogical – there was no reason for him to risk _his_ life just because _they_ were unable to use shadow clones – but Sakura did not giving him the chance. "Look!" she said, pointing her finger at the approaching enemy. "Look at what your clones are doing!"

His eyes moved to the place she was indicating. In the distance, he could make out familiar looking figures clad in the black and green of Konoha. They were standing on rooftops or hunkered down in the street, peppering the enemy with kunai and shuriken, but they were attacking from too far away and their scattered attacks had almost no effect in slowing the enemy. He winced as he watched the thugs and bandits make an aggressive push forwards, only for his clones to hurriedly move out of the way.

"It's almost like they're afraid," Naruto said, confusedly. "But they're clones. There's no risk to them, they can't ever really die, so why-"

"It's because they are clones of _you_ , Naruto!" She stopped gesturing with her arms and crossed them instead. "Look, fear isn't rational; it's not something you can just turn off at will. If you create clones when you're too scared to fight the enemy yourself, they're going to be afraid, too!"

"Ah," said Naruto. "Oh. Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

She scowled at him, her face more scrunched up and angry than he had ever seen it before. "Well? What are you waiting for? _Go!_ "

Naruto was running towards the battle even before he was even aware of having made a decision. _I guess, somehow, she's just that much scarier than they are._

After half a minute of running up walls and bounding over rooftops he landed besides two of his startled identical twins. Naruto could see the problem clearly now: Their slouched posture, their hesitant movement and the furtive look in their eyes all told the same story.

 _Do I look that way to Sakura, too?_ _No wonder she yells at me so much…_

"What are you staring at me like that for?" he said with sudden anger. "Don't you useless bastards know we've got a village to protect?" When he received only blank looks in reply, he kneeled and laid down a scroll from his pouch, spreading it out on the thatched roof and channelling chakra into it to manifest a dozen kunai, each with an explosive tag wrapped around the handle. He pointed to the clone on his left. "Take these and bury them in the ground before the barricades without being seen, then pull back." He shifted his attention to the clone on his right. "And you: Go and tell the rest of us to circle around the enemy, make it look like we're gonna leave but get ready to attack 'em in the rear when I say so."

The second shadow clone gave him an uncertain look. "Why not just…"

"I said go!" At last the clones ran off and did as they were told. He did not dare dispel them the way they were now, and there was no time to argue with enemies so close to the barricades. It seemed that the most drunk and brazen bandits had died or broken after the initial charge, but now the surviving rogues had gotten wise to their tricks and kept further apart, skirting around the edges of buildings to avoid getting hit by shuriken while edging ever closer to the vulnerable villagers in the centre.

Seeing their way clear of opposition, at first the bandits seemed to suspect a trap, but then one of the clones used the transformation technique to show Naruto's wounded and broken body falling from the rooftops. With a victorious roar the bandits charged through the central street en-masse. The villagers threw harpoons and loosed what crossbow bolts they had as the bandits neared the barricade, but the scattered attacks did far too little to break their charge. Cries of dismay rose up from the villager's ranks as the bandits closed in, and Naruto could see several of them start to waver and flee. Right when the thugs reached the barricades, Naruto activated the buried tags with a hand sign, and the ground beneath the attackers exploded in a cloud of dirt and dust even as the rest of the clones attacked them from the rear.

The real Naruto created two more clones and cast the seals for the body-flicker technique. "My turn..."

The world blurred around them, and then Naruto and his clones were in the centre of the enemy group, their swords cutting into silhouettes as they fought within the cloud of dust that now covered the street. It took mere seconds for the enemy to break and scatter, fleeing to the coastline under a hail of shuriken. Naruto watched them all go with bloody sword in hand, only six identical blond ninjas left standing in the blood-slicked street amidst the wrangled corpses and severed limbs of his enemies.

One by one his clones dispelled themselves. The memories hit him each in turn, in distinct bursts at first, and then so fast it all blurred together. Seconds, minutes, quarters of hours or however long his clones had lived – he felt the cut of his sword biting home, another missing, the shock of a blow reverberating through his bones, blood spurting over him and leaving a foul sensation on his skin even where he himself was clean. Countless screams echoed through his head, his own as well as his enemies', accompanied by a smell that penetrated his nostrils and filled his lungs, choking him like a foul poison that clogged his six remembered throats.

Falling to his knees amidst the bodies he had slain, Naruto finally heaved up his last meal.

* * *

Uchiha Sasuke had always believed in being the best. It was not simple arrogance, as so many assumed. Rather it was a philosophy, one that his father and his clan had instilled in him from the moment he was able to understand spoken words. "Never forget that you are an Uchiha," his father had told him over and over, but it had taken Sasuke a long time to understand what he truly meant.

 _All power demands sacrifice._ In order to gain something, you had to surrender something else in return: That was the fundamental teaching which Uchiha Madara had imparted to them during the Founding of the Leaf. If you wanted to be strong, you had to pay a price in time spent training and thus sacrifice a portion of your life. If you wished to be wise, you had to read books and study ancient scrolls of forgotten lore. If you wanted to be free you would have to risk war. And if you wanted to be the best, then you needed to set high standards all your life, and so the price you paid was happiness.

That was the sacrifice Sasuke had set out to make, in exchange for the power to avenge his fallen clan.

So why was it that he could not stop shaking?

He drew his chakra-forged chokutō from the wooden scabbard on his belt and assumed his practiced combat stance. His right hand held the blade as steady as he could, while his left pointed slightly forward, ready to grab for any enemy that came too close. The mindless enemy hordes came at him all at once, screaming their defiance, and Sasuke gave them his answer: His blade flashed out and carved off the first foe's arm with chakra-enhanced strength, and even before the man's scream of rage could turn to one of agony his blade was already moving to the next. One slash went through a bandit's belly; the next went clean through the throat of another. All his opponents were blending together by now, reduced to a single amorphous whole – a singular obstacle to be defeated.

He ducked beneath their primitive weapons with contemptuous ease – perhaps it was the Sharingan that slowed their movements, or else it was the chakra that raged through his body, but the end result was the same. He grabbed one man and tossed him into another before impaling both, then pulled out his blade and finished off the others. The blood spilled over him as they died, but to the Uchiha it might as well have been the cool ocean spray on his face. Their lives and deaths meant nothing to him.

And still his hands kept shaking. He wanted to cut off those treacherous hands, to burn them with the Black Flames and cast them into oblivion for their impudence, but he needed them still. The bandits were regrouping now, finding some semblance of courage in their numbers, and while he was distracted by his trembling they had managed to surround him entirely. It made no difference.

"Come on, then!" he cried. "Come and die if you value your lives so little, but stop wasting my time!"

They hesitated at the sight of him, covered as he was in blood and surrounded by corpses, but those bandits who were too intoxicated to feel fear pressed on regardless, and when the first few charged the others followed in their wake. As they closed in on Sasuke from every side he channelled chakra to his feet, and held it until the last possible moment. Right before they reached him the chakra exploded from his feet and he flew upwards, time seeming to slow as new chakra flared to life within him until he almost floated in the air. Then he formed the tiger seal and focussed on the very concept of _Fire_.

 _Burn…_

The chakra poured from his mouth as a roiling flame, blazing heat washing over the bandits and swallowing them whole as the firestorm consumed all in its path. Sasuke landed in the midst of the circle of fire, the screams of his enemies now torturously loud in his ears. The stench of bubbling fat and burning flesh was worse than anything he had ever smelled before.

 _Just stop and fall already…_

Right then a giant of a man burst forth from the flames, his black beard on fire and his great belly a mess of burnt clothes and blackened flesh, and he charged at Sasuke with nought but his bare hands. Sasuke's sword flashed towards the man's heart, but a tremor in his hand threw off his aim: The blade pierced his chest, lodged itself between two ribs and remained stuck. Blind panic tore through his focus, and all he could think was to try and pull the blade free, but the brute barrelled into him and closed his meaty hands around Sasuke's throat, lifting him off his feet. As Sasuke gasped for breath he looked into the man's black eyes and saw his death.

He kicked wildly at the bandit, trying vainly to dislodge the sword or push the thick hands from his neck, but he could not breathe or think and all strength was being squeezed out of him. At last he managed a blind kick to the groin and the ground reappeared beneath his feet, but before he could suck in even a single breath something struck his head and he flew backwards. His back collided against a wall, and the last of his air was taken from him. Before him a grim silhouette stood wrapped in darkness, surrounded by black fire. The ground swayed with the giant's every step, seeming to shake and spin as Sasuke's death drew ever closer.

 _No. I am… Uchiha. I… still have to…_

The shadow loomed over him, growing ever larger, and then toppled and crashed into the ground. Something had sprouted from the back of his head, but it was hard to make out what. The next moment a figure was bending over Sasuke, a strange girl with an unusually large forehead, and he tried to brush her off but he no longer had the strength for that. The next he knew he was being pulled away, carried off to some unknown fate. None of it mattered anymore.

 _A civilian… I was almost killed by an unarmed… civilian._

* * *

Zōri peeked around the corner of the building he stood behind, sword in hand. Ahead of him, the barricades that the villagers hid behind were only a hundred paces away. Zōri had managed to stay clear of the battle so far – there was a reason the lanky rogue samurai had stayed alive all this time – but he knew that if the battle turned sour Gato would blame him for it, and he did not savour that prospect at all.

"I think those two ninja kids went away to lick their wounds," he said to his comrade. "Now's our chance, Waraji. If you take the right, I'll take the left, and we storm them together. Are you ready?"

When no response was forthcoming, he turned around and let out a dismayed groan. "Waraji!"

The other samurai turned to Zōri, a neutral expression in his one remaining eye. His bare chest was covered in blood from a dozen corpses that he had cut apart with his sword, the remnants of which now littered the ground around him. "What? I got bored waiting."

"We're in the middle of a battle, and you're going to stop to cut apart-" he gestured towards the remains of the wall he had been standing next to "-a bunch of wood and random corpses?"

The big man shrugged. "I like cutting things, Zōri."

"Yes, I… I know you do, Waraji. I know you do." Zōri's companion was not strictly speaking stupid, but his single-mindedness could be extremely grating at times. Even so he might have been a model samurai, dedicated and loyal to a fault, but the proctors who had evaluated his performance for the Wave Daimyo's forces found their sensibilities offended by his little peculiarities. It was not long before Zōri realized that he too had no future within those cramped cells and narrow halls, and so he had persuaded Waraji to come with him in search of their fortunes. They had found it together, in the form of Gato.

"Listen, Waraji," he said. "Gato trusted us with his mission, and you know we don't want to disappoint Gato. So we're going to be focussing our cutting skills on those villagers over there now, all right?"

Waraji nodded. "As you say, Zōri."

"Good. Now, you charge the barricade from the right while I go from the left, and together we'll-"

A loud explosion interrupted his instructions, followed by a whole series of thunderous blasts that shook the ground and caused nearby buildings to shudder. "Oh, _now_ what is it?"

Panicked screams were coming from the centre, and then half of their forces were running through the streets in their direction and away from the barricades. Realizing that their army was about to rout entirely, Zōri acted quickly: He channelled chakra to his blade, focussed his thoughts on the very notion of cutting, of _making whole things come apart_ , and slashed downward. Blue light flickered outwards in a straight line, slicing deep into the dirt street in front of the fleeing men and causing mud and dust to explode upward like a solid wall. The hired muscle came to a sudden halt, some staring at the samurai with frightful eyes, while others stumbled and slipped on the muddy soil.

"Waraji," he said calmly, "if they try to flee again, cut them the way I just cut the ground." The one-eyed man grinned eagerly, and Zōri could see in the eyes of the troops that the threat had the desired effect.

He walked up to and addressed the nearest of the runners. "Where did you think you were going? Are you going to tell me that you're afraid of a handful of villagers armed with pointy sticks?"

"It's that blond ninja boy," the wiry man said with a slurred voice full of fear and alcohol. "He's done split himself into a dozen bodies an', an' he's everywhere now! Exploding the streets with his magical papers! The boy's a daemon, a daemon I'm tellin' you!"

Zōri sighed. Flaring his chakra, he grabbed hold of the man's coat and lifted him off his feet for the others to watch. "Listen. Don't worry about the boy, we'll deal with him. You focus on the villagers. Agreed?"

"Ah… ah… yes!"

"Good." He dropped the man without a second glance. "Waraji?"

"I got it." He grinned again. "You take the left, me the right."

"That's right. The rest of you, wait and charge on our command."

Flaring his chakra once more, he turned the corner and dashed to the far side of the street, running towards the barricades at an angle. A volley of scattered crossbow bolts and harpoons clattered harmlessly behind him, unable to track his speed. He ducked behind a porch and looked for his partner across the street as yet more bolts and missiles impacted his wooden cover with dull repetitive thuds.

"Waraji, you see him yet?"

Crouching on the other side of the street his partner pointed upwards, where a hail of shuriken fell upon them from the rooftops in reply. These were aimed far more accurately than those of the villagers, but their swords still deflected them easily. _The boy's taking us lightly._ Above them, a group of identical blond ninjas clad in black and green was bounding from rooftop to rooftop, flinging projectiles as they leaped. There were only three of them; the rest was spread out across the village fighting everywhere at once. _We need to take all of them out at the same time, or they'll just create more of themselves._

One of the clones sent a kunai flying towards him, an explosive tag wrapped around the handle and sizzling with chakra. With chakra-enhanced reflexes Zōri turned and slid the point of his sword through the ring on the knife's pommel, and then spun and flung the projectile back at the enemy. The explosion shattered the rooftops, taking out one of the clones even as the other two leaped away from the blast.

"Waraji, now!"

The two men channelled chakra to their swords and struck together as one. Twin blades of chakra flashed out in crescent arcs, meeting their opponents in mid-air and slicing them into nothingness before they could form so much as a single seal.

"The barricade!" he cried out. Two more sword strokes cut the air before them in horizontal slices, and then the makeshift wall exploded in a cloud of dust and debris. He turned back to the hired muscle huddled in the street behind them. "Well, what are you all waiting for? Let's go get them!"

The ragged fighters roared in unison as they charged past Zōri and Waraji, and fell upon the panicked villagers. The two samurai strode into the swirling melee side by side, a lone beacon of silence amongst the screams of fighting and dying men. Some of the villagers tried to face their blades with primitive weapons or borrowed ninja tools, while others cowered in fear or pled for mercy. One came at them with an oar and was cut apart for his troubles. None of it made any difference: Zōri and Waraji were as wolves among lambs, striking down all who stood in their path. The fires gripping the village drew ever closer, until finally the two warriors were surrounded by a maelstrom of fire and death.

Something whistled towards Zōri and he only barely twisted away in time as a quarrel landed between him and Waraji. Standing in the very centre of the village's defensive forces, a frightened boy wearing a pan as a helmet was desperately trying to reload his empty crossbow. Waraji barked out a laugh at the sight, but Zōri was distracted by a faint hissing sound, and he turned to investigate. Stuck in the dirt behind them, the explosive tag attached to the quarrel went off.

Whether it was his swift reactions or the shockwave that did it he never knew, but Zōri went flying face first into the dirt, the taste of copper in his mouth and cool mud on his face. As he wiped his eyes clear of grime, he became aware of another shape lying in the dirt next to him. His partner's mangled and smoking body lay there, his neck twisted in an impossible direction, his lifeless eyes staring at nothing.

"Waraji!" His hand groped around and found his sword even as his eyes looked for the boy, who was still struggling to reload his crossbow. "You'll _pay_ for that!" Flaring his chakra he launched himself forward, stumbling and nearly slipping on the bloody ground as he went. His blade slashed across the child's stomach once, and that was enough. The boy stared down stupidly as his tiny guts spilled onto the ground like wet noodles, and then he fell over, clutching his belly and screaming.

Zōri was distantly aware of another scream behind him, but before he could react something sharp and cold pierced his back, and he only barely managed to twist around and pull himself free from the knife. There was a young woman standing in front of him, with long black hair and a red shirt – the same woman whose house he and Waraji had ransacked just a few weeks earlier, he dimly recalled.

She made to stab him again, but his sword was already heading for her chest and the blade went straight through her. She fell on top of him, and pain lanced through his back as they both hit the ground. The woman hefted her kunai again, and he grabbed her by the wrists to stop her, but he no longer had the strength to hold her back. With terrible slowness the knife plunged into his chest, and the searing pain that came in its wake was like nothing Zōri had ever felt before. Only when it had entered all the way to the hilt did the woman slump over, blood trickling from her mouth. It was too late. Zōri could do nothing but watch as the world slowly grew darker around him, and the pain faded into nothingness.

 _Damn..._


	17. Hope and Hypocrisy

Zabuza's water clone arrived at the great stone bridge alone.

He had ordered Haku to stay behind just in case Kakashi had planned this meeting specifically to target the boy – Kakashi might well be able to slip away with his team if Zabuza's teleporting minion perished. Haku was however keeping a careful watch from several different angles using ice mirrors set up along the coast, and he had seen nothing to indicate a trap. Zabuza supposed Kakashi could have trapped the bridge itself, but he somehow doubted that the Leaf ninja would destroy the very object he had come here to protect, just to take out a single water clone when the White Fang himself still stood on it.

There really was no indication that this meeting was anything other than what it appeared to be.

Warily, ever so carefully, Zabuza approached the silhouette waiting for him at the very end of that unfinished bridge. The strands of mist that drifted around the structure was not of his own devising, and in the dark of the night he could see scant feet ahead of him, but that suited Zabuza just fine: He was a former Anbu of the Hidden Mist, and when it came to silent killing there was no greater master. If need be, he could kill by sound alone. It was just another thing that was to his advantage, and not Kakashi's.

"Ah, Momochi Zabuza-san," Hatake Kakashi said without so much as turning around.

Zabuza did not let his annoyance show. "Kakashi. What is this about?"

"I wanted to see whether I could come to an agreement with you." Kakashi calmly turned around, his hands in his pockets, looking entirely at ease. It was a bluff, of course, but it still managed to irritate Zabuza. "I have to admit I'm disappointed, Zabuza-san. I had hoped you were a better man than this." He took one hand from his pocket and gestured towards the burning village that enclosed the bay, where a tall plume of smoke now rose and from which a smell drifted that clung to a man's nostrils and followed him wherever he went.

"What, you're upset about a few dead peasants?" Zabuza scoffed loudly. "You can't possibly have been a jōnin for so long and still be this naïve, Kakashi. All the people in this dirt village combined are worth less than even one true ninja. Entire countries like the Land of Rain were reduced to rubble by you and your people during the Second War, just because it was a convenient battleground, or did you forget?"

"I did not forget," Kakashi said softly. "But that was war, and in times of war innocent people die, no matter how much you try to prevent it. These people died for no reason other than to satisfy your personal ambition."

Zabuza clutched his Great Beheading Blade more tightly. "…and just what do you think that ambition is, Kakashi? I'm fighting a war, too. The only difference is that you have a country to justify your actions, while the Eternal Tyrant still holds onto mine. Do you think that different rules apply to you, just because you have more men?"

"Perhaps." Kakashi shrugged. "When you have an entire people who support your leader and his commands, it does change certain things. Do you think that if anybody could declare themselves Kage and wage their own wars, the world would be a better place for it?"

Zabuza's patience for philosophy had run out. "I see Haku was right about you being a hypocrite. Tell me your offer, and quickly, before I cut off your head with this little knife of mine."

"Of course." Kakashi's hand went up to his forehead protector and tapped the armoured cloth where it obscured his left eye. "It's my Sharingan you're after, isn't it? Then I offer it to you willingly, in exchange for my students' safe return to Konoha."

Zabuza could not help but smile. The proposal was exactly what he had expected: A desperate move by a desperate man. "And why should I accept your offer, when I can simply kill you and take the eye from your still-warm corpse?"

"Well, that's because-" in a blur of motion Kakashi raised his forehead protector with one hand and drew a kunai from his pocket with the other, pointing the tip of the knife directly at the centre of his crimson eye. "If you don't accept my offer, I will destroy the Sharingan right here and now!"

For a moment Zabuza was struck dumb by the sheer audacity of his opponent, but then he burst out laughing. "Very good, Kakashi. Very good! Congratulations, you managed to find a way for both of us to win. I accept your offer: Your eye in exchange for your students to live."

"I will also find a way to send all of my money to you once I return to Konoha," Kakashi said as he lowered the knife to his side. "It may take a little while, but if I call in a few favours I should be able to gather several times as much as the bounties on my head, to compensate you for the risk you're taking."

"Good, good. I see you have thought of everything. Now carve out your eye and give it to me."

The White Fang let out a short, sad sigh. "…you're not going to let my team leave, are you?"

"Hmmm… no."

"Why?" The man sounded almost curious. "I really am being sincere: If you let me go, you will have both my eye and my money. I can give you more assurances if need be."

"Nah, I believe you. I just don't care." It was probably smarter to leave Kakashi in the dark, Zabuza reflected, but it was just too much fun to watch the infamous ninja squirm. "The ability to see the future, read minds, even bend space and time… I don't know if that eye has any of those abilities, or if it's all just rumours and myth. It could be a coloured marble for all I care; the only thing that matters is that everyone believes it can do those things." He pointed at Kakashi's Sharingan. "That crimson eye shall be my banner, and once I transplant it all who see it will know: There walks Momochi Zabuza, the man who killed the White Fang. My enemies will run in fear of me, armies will flock to me, and with the full power of the Mist behind me I shall pull the throne out from underneath Yagura's bloody corpse!"

"In other words, you intend to become exactly what you hate," Kakashi said dryly.

"No… there is one difference. Yagura never trusted anyone, not even his own followers – the ones who should have been his closest allies." A foul taste surfaced in Zabuza's mouth, but he forced it down. "He turned his own people against each other and against himself because of his rampant paranoia, and tore my country apart as a result. I will not make the same mistake: Haku is only the first, but when I reign I shall have thousands of followers, every one of them completely loyal to me and me alone."

"That sounds like a nice dream to have," Kakashi said as he leisurely drew his white sword from his back. "But unfortunately none of that is going to happen, because I'm going to kill you right here and now."

Zabuza could not help but bark an incredulous laugh as he hefted his Executioner's Blade with both hands. "Brave words, but how do you intend to back them up? Show me, Kakashi!"

He charged directly at the White Fang, who charged right back at him. When he swung his much larger weapon Kakashi did not try to parry but ducked underneath it and sprang up in a roll, slashing at Zabuza while running past him. In response Zabuza slammed the tip of his blade into the surface of the bridge and used his momentum to swing around by the handle, turning a full one-eighty degrees before leaping after Kakashi. He pulled his sword up behind him and swung it directly at his enemy, and this time he briefly felt the tip of the blade connect. Kakashi sprang backwards and the two were separated once more, but the damage had been done: There was a gash across Kakashi's armoured jacket, from which a steady stream of blood now seeped.

He smiled at the confirmation of what he had already suspected. "Shadow clones don't bleed, Kakashi."

"Neither do water clones," Kakashi calmly replied, as he pointed at Zabuza's right leg.

Zabuza looked down, certain he would find nothing there, only to recoil at the sight of his own blood trickling down from a cut across his thigh. _No, that's not possible! My real body is still hiding in the water of the bay, I'm sure of it!_ He had no time to consider the issue any further, as Kakashi took advantage of his distraction to cast a new technique, and Zabuza watched in shock as the legendary ninja flicked through all forty-four hand-seals for a full-powered Water Dragon Technique in a matter of seconds. _I have to use the same technique to counter it or I'm dead!_

Gigantic pillars of water rose up from the ocean on either side of the bridge in response to their efforts, but Kakashi finished first and his column transformed into a massive water Dragon, taking flight and roaring its defiance with a veritable monsoon of water droplets spraying from its open jaws. Zabuza's technique completed a second after, and his own dragon burst into life, taking flight and striking towards Kakashi's dragon, which immediately flew out of the way. The two circled one another in mid-air, their serpentine bodies forming a double helix as each sought to outmanoeuvre the other in their flight to the skies. _What's going on? Why can't I make contact?_

"Master Zabuza! Master Zabuza, what are you doing?"

Haku's voice was coming from one of his portals, and it was enough to snap Zabuza out of it. _Genjutsu!_ He flared his chakra, and Kakashi's water dragon vanished entirely, only his own dragon remaining as it flew ever further up into the air by itself. He looked down, and saw that the cut on his leg had vanished as well. _When did that bastard find the time to cast genjutsu?_ He slashed his right hand at his enemy, and in reply the massive Water Dragon descended upon Kakashi, roaring with rage along with its master.

Kakashi formed a single hand seal in reply and body-flickered to the coastal end of the bridge, and it was only then that Zabuza noticed Kakashi's Sharingan spinning inside its socket. _That eye! That cursed bloody eye can cast genjutsu!_ But before he could do anything else Kakashi formed another hand sign, and the great stone bridge detonated with the sound of a hundred buried explosive tags, taking Zabuza's clone and his Dragon out with it.

 _I have to keep Haku and my real body away from this monster,_ was the last thing Zabuza remembered thinking, and then he was gone.

* * *

A gulp of water entered Zabuza's lungs as the wave of memories hit him, and his real body emerged from the water of the bay coughing and spluttering. He slowly recovered his bearings as he made his way across the water to the bay's coast, where one of Haku's frozen mirrors was hidden inside a hollow tree.

"Master Zabuza," the boy called in a concerned voice. "Is that you? Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, Haku. Kakashi just caught me off guard, that's all. He made me waste chakra on a Water Dragon, but no more." He leaned against the tree for support, somehow feeling as though he had missed something, but he could not think of anything else Kakashi had accomplished with his trickery except escape from him. "It seems the Sharingan can cast genjutsu just by looking you in the eye," he added.

"Should I come over to you, master?"

"No," Zabuza said immediately. "I want you to go after that damned bridge builder and those ninja brats. They should be easy prey now that we know where Kakashi is, and if nothing else it will force him to go back and defend them again."

"…yes, master."

He could hear the boy exit through another portal, leaving Zabuza alone with his thoughts. The events at that bridge kept gnawing at him _._ There was more to the legends about the Sharingan than he had assumed, he was certain of that now, but he still could not tell which stories to believe and which to dismiss.

 _The Cursed Eyes of Misery, which can see the future, read and control minds, and bend space and time..._

He was starting to reconsider sending Haku away – the boy had a knack for figuring out mysteries like these – when he heard something coming up from behind him. It was the familiar pitter-patter of padded paws upon the moist soil, slowly drawing closer, approaching through the darkness at a leisurely pace. When he drew his Executioner's Blade and turned around, he found a small pug with a dark nose and floppy ears walking up to him, the same one that had managed to find his clone earlier.

 _That's not possible, I was hiding underwater!_ He pulled out a knife and threw it at the dog with an angry gesture, but the pug vanished into thin air before it was struck. Without delaying another second, he ran off in a random direction, dashing through the forest in a desperate attempt to lose his pursuer. _He knew I was hiding in the water. How?_ His mind raced through the possibilities, trying to find anything he could have said or done to give it away. He nearly tripped over a root when the realization came to him. _The Sharingan can read minds! When he first cast his genjutsu, I recalled my true hiding place. He planned all of this from the start. But if he went through all that trouble, that means he must only be able to read surface thoughts, so if I can just shake him off he won't be able to find my real body again._

He paused and turned around. _Perhaps I should head back to the lake…_

The sound of dogs howling in the distance disrupted his thoughts, and Zabuza cursed silently. He ran off in another direction, though every path looked the same in the blackness underneath the forest canopy, which the waning moon could not hope to pierce. But robbed as he was of sight he could still hear the baying of the hounds as they circled him, drawing ever closer. _They're all around me, hunting me…_

His thoughts went back to the other times he had been hunted, running for his life, chased by ninjas with white masks that hid their faces. The fear he had amassed and suppressed over all those years finally struck him all at once: He was back in the Mizukage's inner sanctum, right after his assassination attempt had been discovered, running through those cold stone corridors with shadows chasing him from every direction. He was fleeing his own country, a mere handful of chūnin accompanying him, all the others having bowed to Yagura the moment his plan turned sour. At last he was alone, hiding in some forgotten backwater, afraid to carry his weapons openly for fear of being discovered as a rogue ninja. Afraid to even look civilians in the eye, until at last he had turned to Gato out of sheer desperation.

The childlike figure of Yagura appeared before him then, lounging on his throne the way Zabuza had imagined it so many times before. The Eternal Mizukage was sitting there with his white robes and conical hat, laughing at his pitiful struggles, _mocking_ his pathetic existence. All around Zabuza there were hunter-ninjas wearing white masks, and as they closed on him they drew their swords, silent as death.

Zabuza ground to a halt, gripping his Executioner's Sword and dismissing the image with a burst of chakra. "You think you can frighten me that easily, Kakashi? I know you're almost out of chakra… I'm not scared of your petty psychological tricks." He glared at the faint silhouette that appeared in the darkness before him with murderous intent, though he took care not to look anywhere near where he thought the eyes would be. "I'll have you know that my Haku is chasing down your precious little students even as we speak. In some ways, that boy is even stronger than I am. Your brats won't stand a chance unless you go back to help them."

"Oh, I know." The silhouette was drawing closer now, and Zabuza could see that it was somehow _larger_ than it was supposed to be, and the sound it made was that of claws dragging along the ground. A glowing crimson orb hovered in the darkness above it, casting an eerie red light. "I meant for you to do that, Zabuza-kun. I made you do it, in fact, using this eye of mine."

Zabuza forced himself to bark out an incredulous laugh. "Even if you had that ability, do you expect me to believe that a soft Konoha ninja like you would sacrifice his students like that? What a pathetic bluff." He pushed his chakra even further, flaring it until no genjutsu in the world could have held him, but still that eye kept glowing crimson, and still the dogs kept howling, drawing ever closer as they circled him.

"It really is amazing, how stupid people are," the voice replied. "When I was thirteen, I murdered my own comrades to get this left eye of mine, and I was called friend-killer for it. I spent my life hunting down traitors like you just for fun, and earned the name 'cold hearted Kakashi' for my ruthlessness. I'm feared across all the nations of the world as the dreaded White Fang, but all I have to do is put on a casual air and people ignore the facts and believe whatever they please." The figure strode out of the darkness, and Zabuza saw that it was a massive wolfhound, snarling and slavering as it bared its fangs at him with a visceral hunger. On top of that monstrous creature sat the White Fang, his bone-white chakra blade in hand, while his Sharingan illuminated his masked face with an unearthly crimson glow. Raw killing intent wafted from him like a physical wall. "Zabuza-kun, please allow me to show you… what kind of ninja I truly am."

Zabuza wavered for just one moment, and then he was running without any conscious decision ever having been made, the ravenous wolfhound following so close behind him he could almost feel its warm breath upon his neck. _Distance! If I can just put some distance between us, I could fight him…_ His hands formed the seals for the water clone technique of their own accord, and three copies of him appeared and scattered in every direction. He felt the wolfhound move further away from him, and for a moment he allowed himself to hope. Then he stumbled as fresh memories struck him, one of his water clones having been torn in half by the monstrous creature. His second body was torn asunder by a whole pack of vicious dogs, leaping from out of the darkness in their multitude and tearing him apart. The third was run down by the rider itself, a glowing white chakra blade bursting through his chest as he ran.

 _How can he be this strong? He should be nearly out of chakra!_ But even as Zabuza's mind told him that he should turn around and fight, his body remembered the pain of dying, remembered falling to the White Fang so many times before, and refused to stop running. "Haku!" he cried in desperation, vainly looking for an ice mirror to save him. "Haku, where are you? I need your help! Haku!"

A feral creature burst out of the darkness, growling and snarling, and Zabuza thrust out his blade in panicked reflex. A small dog nearly impaled itself upon the tip before vanishing as it reached his sword, only its blue coat wrapping itself around his sword, the explosive tags lining the inside already sizzling. Zabuza threw his sword away, but even so the edge of the shockwave caught him and he was thrown across the forest floor by the blast. Five more dogs came out of the shadows and fell upon him, tearing into his limbs with bloody savagery as he struggled vainly to hold them off, until finally the White Fang himself appeared before him. Still seated on his monstrous hound, he looked down at Zabuza with one merciless crimson eye, not even bothering to finish him off himself.

 _No… I refuse to die like this!_

With a mighty shout he flared his chakra and threw the dogs away from him, but a second later they were upon him again, biting and rending his flesh. In blinding agony and sensing death approach, his mind recalled the first time he had been surrounded by worthless braying animals, during the final academy graduation exam. He had been ordered to kill his one and only friend back then, and he had done so out of fear for disobeying, but something in him had snapped. _I will show you how good I am at killing,_ he remembered thinking, as he flared his chakra far beyond what was considered safe or even possible, and killed _everybody_.

Zabuza flared his chakra again, one last time.

* * *

Hatake Kakashi was watching cautiously from on top of his loyal steed as Zabuza finally fell beneath his pack, when suddenly there was a surge of chakra and raw killing intent emanating from the man that sent him reeling in shock. He looked on in dismay as Zabuza picked up one of his dogs by the scruff of its neck and _smashed_ it upon the ground, and then the man found his Executioner's Blade once more and _whirled_ it around him in deadly arcs as though it weighed nothing. Kakashi hastily ordered his hounds to fall back, but the damage had been done: All around Zabuza the ground was littered with wounded and dying dogs, and they vanished back to the place of their summoning, one by one.

"Do you think you're the only one with secret techniques, Kakashi? Now you see why I'm called the Daemon of the Bloody Mist!" Chakra was swirling around Zabuza like a purple mist, wreathing his wounded body, _cloaking_ him like a daemon's shroud. Kakashi's eyes widened as he realized just what he was looking at: _He's using the eight gates!_

The eight-gate technique let the user flare one's chakra far beyond what was normally possible, while tearing their own body apart in the process. _If he's using the Eight Gates, I can't outrun him._ Kakashi looked around desperately as he searched through his options. _I have no more chakra for ninjutsu, genjutsu won't affect him like this…_ He went through his pouch and found only a handful of caltrops, which he scattered around him in the hope of using his superior vision to his advantage. _I have no choice but to open the First Gate myself, and together with the Sharingan, hope that it's enough to defeat him._

But the attack never came. No sooner had Zabuza rid himself of the dogs, or he turned tail and fled towards the water of the bay. He did not stop there, but kept on running across the water at an incredible pace, his shrinking figure swiftly fading into the distance. Kakashi slowly lowered his white chakra sword as he realized how very close to death he had just come. His wolf hound whined softly.

 _I broke my own rule and executed a fourth-level plan; if even one part of my scheme had gone wrong, I would have died for it._ He pictured Minato-sensei chastising him from the afterlife for taking such risks. But no, Kakashi had not left it all up to chance: He had used the Sharingan to plant suggestions into Zabuza's head to force him to make mistakes, and of course he had made certain necessary sacrifices…

He ordered his dog into a trod, moving back towards the village, but he already knew that even if he arrived in time he would not have the chakra to make a difference. _Obito, Rin, forgive me. I betrayed your trust in me once again._

* * *

Hidden amongst the fire and the smoke, sitting in the very centre of the ruined village within a circle of corpses and ruined barricades, Naruto finally found what he had been looking for.

"Tazuna-san," he called, as he gingerly approached.

After Sakura and Sasuke left, Naruto had been forced to spread his clones across the village to fight, and he had not noticed right away when all his clones in one area had been taken out at once. By the time he realized what was happening, it had been too late: His clones soon managed to drive the bandits off, but there was precious little left to save. The few villagers that remained ran off to the rower's house, which was now being used as a shelter. Sakura had elected to stay there to tend to Sasuke and the villagers, but Naruto had gone back to look for the only civilian left whose name he still knew.

"Tazuna-san," he tried again. "You mustn't stay here. It's not safe."

"Where else would I go?" The old man did not look up, but kept staring quietly at the woman and child that lay at his feet. All three of them were covered in a layer of black soot, and the pool of liquid on the ground had blackened as well, making their forms hard to distinguish from the shadows cast by the flames all around them. "Those savages destroyed my house. And my village, and my daughter, and my grandson as well… and as for that great explosion earlier, I think that might have been my bridge."

Naruto grasped for something to say that was encouraging yet not a complete lie, but could think of precious little. "There are still people who look up to you as their leader," he tried vainly. "You can't let them down when they need you most."

The former bridge builder looked up at Naruto, but there was no life to be found in those bespectacled grey eyes. "No… your teacher was right: Everything that's happened here is because of me. Because I was stubborn and could not admit defeat, I lied and tricked you Leaf ninja into fighting our battle for us, and made this conflict into what it is. It's only fitting that I burn here, with the others."

Perhaps there were was something that Naruto could have said that would have made everything better, but if such words existed he had never learned them, and so he merely said what he truly felt as he always did. "I don't want you to die, Tazuna-san," he whispered. "Please come with me."

Whatever the old man would have said next, he did not get the chance to say it, for in that moment a chill passed over them both. It was a sudden coldness that cut straight to the bone, which reached them in the middle of that blazing inferno and caused their spines to shiver. Naruto looked up to the sky in bewilderment, and found cold white flakes drifting gently downwards, melting only slowly as they landed on his face.

It had started to snow.


	18. Fire and Ice

**A/N:** Hey all. It turns out my grandmother doesn't have a tumor after all, but only a bloodclot in the brain from which she's mostly recovered. I guess sometimes things do turn out randomly positive, after all. It's a huge relief, either way.

Anyway, Naruto! Fanfiction! Striving to become stronger! Yeah!

* * *

"Snow?" Tazuna said confusedly. "In this time of year?"

Naruto grabbed him by the arm. "C'mon Tazuna-san, we gotta run!"

But before he could take another step the snow coalesced into a rectangular sheet of ice that blocked his path, which transformed into an icy mirror, and the mirror became a portal that reflected a frozen image which spoke to him in a soft whisper.

"Naruto-kun. Please step away from the bridge builder."

Naruto stared back at the image, noticing for the first time what he had been blinded from seeing before. The thin eye slits in the white metal mask revealed no face, and the long black hair had been bound with metal cuffs rather than hanging loose, but even so… even if the pink kimono had been replaced with a grey uniform and green haori, there could be no mistaking that sad and wistful tone of voice.

"Hello, Haku," he said. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

The figure flinched as though struck. "I, I truly am sorry, Naruto-kun."

"What are you sorry about?" In that moment Naruto thought he could understand Tazuna's strange empty expression, because he did not feel any of the anger he had expected, himself. "Making a fool out of me, just like everybody else always does? Or burning down a village full of innocent people?"

It was quiet for a moment, and Naruto wished that he could see Haku's face. Instead he found himself watching the snowflakes glide down gently and mingle with the ashes, a beautiful blend of black and white that all turned to sludge by the time it reached the ground.

"It was never my desire to be a shinobi," Haku said at last. "It is… painful to me. But my dream is my master's dream, and I shall do whatever it takes to make it a reality. Please do not stand in my way."

 _It is only when you have something precious to protect that you are able to become truly strong…_ that was what Haku had told him back in that training field, and it was only now that Naruto realized just who the 'cruel person' was that had forced them out of their home. "Do we really have to be enemies, just because we've got different dreams? Does everything really have to burn, just for that?" He remembered arguing with Kakashi about who he thought the _real_ enemy was, but convincing anyone of that seemed like such a distant prospect now.

The masked ninja nodded. "As humans, we can't help but care for those close to us over mere strangers. It's for the same reason that you're trying to protect the bridge builder now, rather than any of the other villagers whose names you do not know. When such values clash the result is conflict, and to refuse to fight in that conflict is not compassion, but a betrayal of those who depend on you."

"But it doesn't have to be that way," Naruto tried. "We could just _choose_ not to fight."

"Yes," Haku agreed sadly. "You _could_ just walk away and let me kill the bridge builder."

"Why are you still trying to kill Tazuna-san, anyway?" He gestured towards the bridge builder behind him, who was watching the exchange mutely. "I thought that was all just part of your plan to trick us?"

"It was. But after engaging Kakashi-san, master Zabuza ordered me to attack you, to force your sensei to go back to protect you and to satisfy the terms of Gato's contract." The white mask sank ever so slightly. "I have tried to keep watch on master Zabuza with my mirrors ever since, in case he changed his mind, but I can no longer find him anywhere. It is possible that the White Fang managed to find him first."

"Oh. I'm sorry to hear that." Naruto did not even knowif that was a lie. "I'm not gonna let you kill Tazuna-san, though."

"You cannot protect him," Haku said, a long needle sliding from his sleeve into his hand. "We both know you are only a shadow clone, so all I need do is–" Haku stopped as Naruto pulled out a kunai and used it to draw a drop of blood from this thumb. A slight pained sound escaped from behind the mask. "I do not want to hurt you, Naruto-kun, but if you force me to I will complete my path as a shinobi and kill the kindness in my heart, just as my master always desired for me to do. For the sake of my master's dream, if need be I will pierce straight through your body to reach the bridge builder and end his life."

"I've got a lot of bodies," Naruto retorted as he summoned half a dozen clones between him and his enemy. Diving straight towards Tazuna, he pulled the stunned bridge builder onto his feet and dragged him away from the fire and in the direction of the last of the unburned houses. "C'mon! We gotta run!"

 _The safe house,_ Naruto thought fervently as he ran. _If I can just get him to the rower's house, Sakura and Sasuke can help..._

"We won't make it," Tazuna wheezed, his breath coming out in ragged gasps as he vainly struggled to keep up with Naruto's ninja speed. "He's, too fast, and I'm… too old." Even as Naruto struggled to deny the fact, he knew that it was true: Already the memories of his dead clones were catching up to him, every last one of their bodies pierced by merciless needles. Seconds later, a portal of ice opened up scant steps ahead of him, and the frozen image of a masked figure silently blocked the way before them.

 _That's not fair,_ he thought helplessly.

"Just, leave me be." The fear on Tazuna's face slowly gave way to acceptance as they stumbled to a halt. "It's okay… it's not your fault."

"I don't wanna hear it," said Naruto, as he summoned more clones to delay the enemy while pulling the bridge builder down a side street. As he ran through the snow as fast as his feet could carry him, an odd sense of familiarity came over him, and he paused as the memory of their first day of travel came back to him. And he remembered Mizuki's speech, all that time ago, about making certain necessary sacrifices…

"Get on my back," he said. "I'll carry you!" The bridge builder's eyes widened, but this time he did not refuse. With chakra-enhanced strength, his wiry old body seemed surprisingly light on Naruto's back.

 _I'm not gonna let you die, Tazuna-san. Even if everything else burns down and there is nothing left but ash, I'll save at least one person. I can do at least that much…_

Through the falling snow and ash they went, faster than before.

* * *

In the house of the rower, now deceased, Sakura was tending to the injured civilians. She knew, on an intellectual level, that she could not help them all. Reason and logic told her that she could save more people by fighting to protect them than by healing those already injured, a fact that was made evident by the increasing press of wailing bodies all around her. And yet, despite that fact, she found she could not bring herself to leave.

 _I'm making a mistake. I know I'm making a mistake, but somehow I'm still here making it,_ she thought to herself in puzzlement.

She was in the middle of attempting vainly to heal a man with a ruptured spleen when one of Naruto's clones burst into the building. A cold wind blew inside the room and carpeted the floor with ash and snow, and she almost yelled at him to close the door, but the expression on his face stopped her.

"Haku's after us," Naruto said, pausing only to catch his breath with ragged gasps. "I'm trying to bring Tazuna here but he keeps teleporting after us, and I don't think we're gonna make it!"

Sakura instantly stopped trying to heal the dying man before her, the news bringing her out of her stupor like a splash of ice-cold water to the brain. _They're here. Kakashi-sensei failed, he's dead and now we're all going to die too._ For a moment her heart pumped acid through her veins as images of their deaths flashed through her mind, but then the reality of Naruto's words sank in.

"Wait, just Haku? Momochi Zabuza is not with him?"

Naruto furtively shook his head, still panting as he shut the door behind him, and Sakura felt her heart rate slow with a small measure of relief. "Okay," she said. "We can deal with this. Just use your shadow clones to lure Haku away from here. Have them carry Tazuna-san as far away as possible, hide him somewhere if you can, but don't feel too bad if he gets caught." She stood up and gathered the contents of the medical kit her sensei had provided her, ignoring the pleas of the wounded villagers lying all around her. "While your clones distract him, we'll make a run for it and get out of the village."

"I don't think I can," Naruto said, and the wretched expression on his face caused her breath to catch. "Because I'm, I mean, the real me is carrying Tazuna-san right now, and I think Haku would notice if I tried to switch."

"You–"Her speech stalled, and she had to repeat the words in her head to make sure that she understood them correctly. "You used _your real body_ to look for Tazuna?" He nodded mutely, and Sakura could feel her blood rising to her forehead in frustrated disbelief. "You stupid, _foolish…_ what in the Sage's name would possess you to _do_ such a thing?"

"Because!" Naruto spluttered indignantly. "Because, I mean, you said so! You said my clones wouldn't fight unless I fought with them and that it wasn't fair for you to be in danger if I wasn't too. I only ever did what you told me to!"

"I never meant that you should put yourself at risk! I only said–" What _had_ she said? "–I only meant that you should be _willing_ to fight yourself, not that you should actually do it! How could you possibly think that's what I meant?" Sakura was about ready to tear her hair out in frustration with the oblivious boy, but she forcibly composed herself. "Oh, forget it: Just get your real body out of there while you still can!"

"I _can't_ ," Naruto protested weakly. "The only reason Haku hasn't killed Tazuna-san yet is because I'm carrying him and he doesn't wanna hurt me, too! If I leave now, he'll kill him for sure!"

Sakura's hands went to her face, but she forced them down and composed herself once more. "Okay, fine, just tell your real body to stay alive. We're coming to help you." She got up and turned her head, needing only a second to find what she sought. While the rest of the house was filled with wounded and dying villagers, there was one dark space in the corner that remained empty but for a shadowy figure resting silently against the wall. "Naruto is in danger, Sasuke-kun. He needs our help."

But the solitary figure remained there, and stared at his lap, and said nothing.

Naruto's clone walked up beside her, a frown on his face. "What's wrong with him?"

"I don't know!" she cried. "I think he must have hit his head or… or _something_. I mean, I healed his wounds and everything and he should be okay, but he's just _sitting_ there." She called his name again, but received not so much as a glare in reply, and her stomach sank further still. _I don't know what I'm supposed to do… Kakashi-sensei, please come back soon._

"Forget about him; I don't think he's gonna be any help." Naruto had a stubborn look on his face as he spoke the words. His eyes suddenly widened, and his hand jerked towards his shoulder as though something had bit him. "Ah! Haku just got another one of me."

She half-raised her hands to his shoulder as though to heal him, but of course there was no injury to be seen. She could do nothing but watch as Naruto teetered on his feet, struggling to hold onto his Shadow Clone technique despite the repeated shocks to his system.

"You've gotta help me, Sakura-chan," he whispered. "I don't think I can keep this up much longer."

"What do you want me to do?" She lowered her hands again, uselessly. _What could I possibly do?_

* * *

A portal opened up in front of Naruto, and he skidded to a halt on the streets that were slowly growing wet with sludge, Haku's image becoming harder to make out as the curtain of snow grew ever thicker. He threw a kunai at his foe, but it was deflected just as easily as all the others he had thrown before. In response, a storm of needles burst out of the mirror and impaled several more clones, which were becoming increasingly difficult to summon as Naruto's chakra reserves dwindled.

"This is pointless," the figure called out. "You cannot evade me, Naruto-kun."

 _This is hopeless,_ Naruto thought to himself as he carried Tazuna into another side-street, still no closer to his destination than when he started. _I can't get away from Haku, and if I try to fight him he can always just teleport away and attack from a distance._ On his back, Tazuna-san was no longer speaking, but the man's weight and his persistent shivering reminded Naruto that he was there. The air was growing colder by the second, and one by one the fires that had gripped the village were starting to go out.

" _Naruto, you have to stop running away from Haku; it's only working to his advantage!"_

Naruto nearly tripped as the memory caught up with him: Sakura was giving his clone advice back at the safe house, and then his clone distributed this knowledge to his other bodies by creating a second copy and dispelling himself. Naruto felt warm hope kindle inside of him at the realization that he was not fighting all alone. He was just about to create a clone to ask Sakura what he was supposed to do, when one of his existing clones dispelled itself, making it unnecessary. _I don't even need to do anything other than carry Tazuna-san,_ Naruto realized. _My clones and Sakura will take care of everything else._

" _It's just like Kakashi-sensei taught us",_ came the memory of Sakura in reply. _"The enemy has the initiative, so you need to either wear him down or force him to make a mistake. Take Tazuna-san somewhere Haku can't get to easily, then set up a trap and ambush him when he steps out of his portal."_

Naruto silently nodded to himself. _Right… only I think that sounded a lot easier back in that nice warm house than it does over here._

He reached into his pouch and threw down a handful of smoke bombs, blocking the enemy's vision with a cloud of grey smoke. At the same time half of his clones jumped on the other half's backs and used the transformation technique to mimic the appearance of Tazuna, pairing up and bursting out of the smoke in three different directions. The real Naruto and Tazuna hid and waited a moment longer before heading off. _That should buy me enough time to hide Tazuna-san somewhere and set up an ambush._

But before he had even run twenty meters, Naruto stumbled with the sharp pain of a needle piercing his thigh, and it took him a second to realize it was only the phantom memory of one of his decoys being taken out. Ten more meters, and the second diversionary team was taken out as well, even though he had moved them away and out of sight of the first.

 _What? How?_

The image of a round face framed by pink hair appeared in his memories. _"Naruto, Haku has some kind of sensory technique! It has to be the same as what they used to find us back in the forest. You've got to stop him from using it somehow, or this'll never work!"_

 _A sensory technique?_ Naruto did not think it likely that a teenager without shadow clones or a clan could have mastered a forgotten bloodline power and learned how to sense chakra at the same time. In that moment one of his clones dispelled itself, and in the memory he saw that the left part of Haku's mask was now covered by a hemisphere of tiny frozen mirrors, like an insect's compound eye.

" _He's using miniature portals to spot you,"_ Sakura said in the same moment, which meant she must have realized it before him. _"He must have them set up in the sky, so he can watch everywhere at once!"_

… _that can't be right,_ Naruto thought in reply. _Chakra can only affect something if it's in physical contact with it. If he's creating those portals by expelling chakra he must have limited range, unless…_ Naruto looked up at the sky as he ran, snowflakes drifting down in ever greater numbers and covering the world in a thin sheet in ice. _Unless he's got a way to spread his chakra out over a wide area, in which case he can teleport anywhere he wants, whenever he wants._

This time he did create and dispel a clone to inform Sakura of what he had just realized. Without waiting for a reply, he darted into one of the still-smouldering buildings and barred the scorched door behind him, before continuing through the blackened corridor. The smoke burned his eyes and choked his lungs, and the heat from the lingering flames was almost unbearable, but he bore it all the same.

"What… what're you doing?" Tazuna's wheezing voice startled Naruto, his presence almost forgotten.

"I had to find a place… his ice can't reach." Naruto coughed as he lowered Tazuna from his back, the sudden loss of weight a stark relief, and it was only then that he felt the full exhaustion of everything he had done up until this point. Slowly, painfully, he found his way towards the building's basement – the kind made of solid stone that could double as a storm cellar if necessary. He ushered the bridge builder inside and locked the thick wooden door behind him. "Please stay there… and hide…"

He pulled a scroll from his pouch and – taking care not to let the smouldering floor and walls of the building scorch them – withdrew one of his last packets of explosive tags. _All of that preparation, all that effort to get funding from Sasuke and dad and being called paranoid, and it still almost isn't enough._ One by one, he placed the tags in key locations around the building, carefully memorizing their locations.

Sakura's worried face appeared in his mind's eye once more. _"Naruto, your clone is almost out of chakra; he can't create any more copies for me to send messages through. Whatever it is you're doing, you'd better make it count, because if that masked boy teleports away again he won't give you another chance."_ There was a slight pause in Naruto's memory, as Sakura seemed to hesitate before speaking again. _"And Naruto? Please try not to do anything that I would be unable to forgive."_

"…you too," he mumbled, as he placed the last of his tags in a smoke-filled room. Unfurling another scroll, he drew forth everything he thought he could use and placed them in his pouch where they would be easily accessible: Knives and bombs and tags of every variety, and anything else he might need.

Somewhere else in the village, the last of his decoy clones were taken out with thrown needles, and Naruto used the chakra that returned to him to summon two final clones, which took up positions elsewhere in the house to cover every entrance. Then he drew his own sword, found his own hiding place in the blackened rafters, and waited for the enemy to come.

* * *

No sooner had Sakura spoken those last words, than Naruto's clone staggered on his feet and collapsed. Sakura reached out to catch him, but her outstretched arms clasped only empty air. Naruto was gone.

She clutched her arms, bit her lip, and furrowed her brow, but at last she had to admit that there was nothing else she could do from here. Once more she turned her hopes to the silent figure of Sasuke, who was still sitting by himself in the dark and empty corner of the room. She wanted nothing more than to grasp him by the shoulders and shake him awake, but something in his posture made approaching him unthinkable.

"Sasuke-kun," she said hesitantly. "Naruto… he's fighting Haku all by himself. We need to go save him."

When no reply was forthcoming, she swallowed, and tried again. "He's your teammate too, Sasuke-kun. We were all in the same class together – you grew up with him, same as me. And he'll never admit it, but I think in a way he looks up to you, like an older brother. You even had that silly sibling rivalry going for a while, do you remember?" She tried to smile, but faltered. "Does he… really mean this little to you?"

But Sasuke continued staring at his lap as though he had heard nothing. She was about to give it one more try, when at last he whispered his reply. "Why don't you do it yourself, if it's so important to you?"

"Me?" She stared at him in bafflement. "Sasuke-kun, I'm a support ninja. All I know is medical ninjutsu and genjutsu, and we're facing an enemy with a bloodline ability that lets him use ice techniques and _teleport_. You're the one with the close-combat ability and fire-style ninjutsu, and you have the Sharingan to see through his secret techniques: You're the only one who can do it!" When he gave no reaction, her hopes fell further still, and she spoke more softly and intently. "Sasuke-kun, he's going to _die_ …"

Something twisted on Sasuke's face, but he shook his head almost imperceptibly. "I _can't._ There is something I need to do, before I die." The air seemed to become thicker and heavier around him, and the shadows on the wall grew darker as he spoke. "There was a time when I still believed in illusions. Back then, as I lay crying, I made a promise to a certain man. I cannot afford to take any more risks."

She stared at him uncomprehendingly, feeling strangely vexed by his refusal to look at her. "So that's it, then? You're just going to sit there for the rest of your life? You think that's going to make you any stronger, Sasuke?" She gritted her teeth. "You can say what you want about Naruto: That he's childish, obnoxious, stubborn, and unbearably naïve – but at least he's no coward!"

There was a stirring then, and at last his dead eyes rose to meet hers. "At least _I_ have a purpose."

She flinched, but even as she struggled to find a riposte she realized that the effect of his gaze was nothing like it had been before. There was no naked contempt in his eyes this time, no merciless strength; only emptiness, pain and fear. She blinked, and when she looked again, the Sasuke she knew was no more. In his place there sat a boy, talented and brilliant and terribly handsome and strong, with raven hair and smooth skin and such beautiful piercing eyes, yet a boy he was and nothing more.

Slowly the tension that had been building inside her began to recede, and she was left with an odd sense of resigned strength. "I think I understand," she said at last. "All this time, I've been acting as though you're invulnerable, and it's just not fair of me to expect that from you. You're clearly still hurt, and I shouldn't have thought that I could heal you so easily. So you just wait there, and focus on getting better, Sasuke-kun. I'll take care of things myself."

She turned around and drew her sword, moving towards the door through the momentum of her words alone, but with every step she took a portion of her courage was taken from her and replaced with double its weight in doubt. _The enemy is stronger than I am, more experienced by far and with a bloodline-limit that lets him teleport away from any trap I might set up._ _I'll have to sneak up on him and take him out in a single hit: That's my one and only chance. Maybe I can use genjutsu to trick him into making a mistake._ Just as her hand brushed upon the door, a voice calling from behind held her back.

"Wait, Sakura."

Sasuke was standing up, rising gingerly at first and then more steadily. "I'll go." Sakura's heart rose as she saw the faintest light in his eyes: There was resignation there, but also a hint of determination… and perhaps it was just wishful thinking, but she thought there was something else in there as well.

"After all," he said, "it's a shinobi rule… that the medic should always be the last of the team to die."

* * *

The enemy's presence announced itself as an icy wind that entered the building, crawling through the gaps and cracks in the blackened walls. Tendrils of frozen air grasped around the edges of the front door and began to smother the smouldering embers in the room. The icy mist gathered in the entryway and coalesced into a tiny, rectangular shape right in front of the door, and through this open wound in the world poured more of the same frozen air, which in turn–

 _Oh._

They were almost imperceptible, but by focusing chakra to his eyes Naruto could see them: A sequence of miniature sheets of ice opening up in a chain, starting from the door and spreading through the rooms and corridors of the building like a swarm of frozen eyes. There was a delay of several seconds between the creation of each portal – the time it took Haku to cast the technique – but their march was inexorable, and slowly the flames that still licked the building's wooden walls started to go out.

Suspended from the roof's support beams by the chakra on his feet, his skin and clothes coloured black through the illusion woven by his transformation technique, Naruto was passed by unnoticed.

 _This isn't fair... If he only uses portals and never shows himself, how the heck am I supposed to beat him?_

But even as he thought that, a voice in the back of his mind replied: _I wonder if the Fourth Hokage complained about life not being fair, when he had to sacrifice his life to seal the Nine-tailed Fox and save the Village? Or whether Kakashi-sensei ever thought of giving up, when he had to protect us and at the same time fight one of the Mist's Seven Swordsmen with almost no chakra left?_

The last of the rectangular ice-sheets opened up in front of the basement door, but for once the frozen chakra seemed to have some difficulty in manoeuvring through the thick iron-bound door. After a moment's pause, the portal started to drift towards the key hole. As the ice entered the hole, Naruto heard a small muted sound of bending wood and metal, as if the lock was being forced apart from the inside, while a mound of snow and ice pressed up ever thicker against the base of the door. Sheer _necessity_ burned in Naruto's veins then, the overwhelming need to figure out Haku's technique _then and there_ leaving no room for doubt or hesitation.

 _That technique must have limitations or Zabuza would be Mizukage already – Haku didn't even try to kill Kakashi like this which means it is either dangerous or unwieldy, and I guess the portals do move slowly but he's still using them effectively despite that, which means there has to be a risk involved that someone like Kakashi could exploit…_

A snapping sound came from the door, and with a low groan the timber was forced apart, ice crusting over and shattering the wooden frame into pieces. The iron lock fell to the ground and tumbled down the stone stairs with an ominous, clanging sound. As Tazuna's form was revealed in the darkness of the basement, the rectangle of ice grew to the size of a window, and then a needle went flying through. Naruto leaped down from his hiding spot to parry the projectile and sent it clattering onto the blackened floorboards. He swung and struck out at the figure in the mirror, but his sword reflected from the surface as though it were striking solid ice and nothing more.

 _Why? Why can his needle pass through but not my sword?_

The image reflected in the mirror regarded him, a cold and merciless expression offered by the thin slits in the mask and the one eye which was covered by a hemisphere of ice. "You wasted your one and only chance to stop me, Naruto-kun." Haku formed an unfamiliar hand seal, and a cold waft of snow and frozen chakra washed over Naruto, brushing past him and down the stairs to where the bridge builder was hiding.

 _He's just gonna ignore me and kill Tazuna, like I'm not even here_ …

At last something akin to anger started bubbling up in Naruto's stomach, and the waking fire burned away the last of his fear and doubts. It came to him then, the critical memory of Sakura's voice, which had never left him even if their means of communication was gone: " _There's no point in testing it if it's been done a million times before. We already know the substitution technique requires the user to coat an item with their chakra before it can be transported. It doesn't matter if it's called a space-time technique or not, the only thing that counts is how it behaves – that is what is meant by the word 'law'."_

Naruto grabbed the bundle of kunai from his pouch – the ones with flash tags wrapped around their handles – and tossed them in the air. Dozens of frozen eyes watched them from every direction as they fell, and when Naruto set them off the world was basked in a brilliant blinding light. There was a _scream_ then, a shriek of pure agony coming from all around him, and in the largest frozen mirror Naruto could see Haku bending over and tearing at the eye of compound portals that let him see everything at once.

 _I can see him which means light travels through-_

Naruto lunged forward and kicked out at the needle that Haku had dropped there, _latching_ it to his sole like the bark of a tree, and hurled the needle straight into the open portal before him. Another scream echoed all around him, and Haku staggered backwards with a thin shaft of iron protruding from his ribs.

 _Items coated in Haku's chakra travel through-_

Naruto grabbed the storage scroll from his pouch and unsealed the last of his explosive tags, ones that had never even touched Naruto's chakra before. He packed them together with some of Haku's snow that had gathered on the floor and _shoved_ the entire bundle through the open portal even as he activated the tags. Then he dodged to the side as the explosives went off and something large hurled past him through the open portal – muffled explosions rocked the ground and air as ice shattered all around him, crystals raining down all around Naruto and _someone else_ -

 _Haku jumped through the portal to escape the blast, I'm not gonna get another chance-_

Naruto's right hand found his sword and he leaped at his enemy who drew his own blade, ninjatō and tantō clashing in a shower of sparks even as Haku weaved seals _with one hand_ and a storm of wind and ice danced all around him. As Naruto staggered backwards the last of his clones burst into the corridor from where they had hid and charged at Haku, but through the wind and the snow the tantō flashed out twice, and the clones fell in quick succession.

Naruto spread his meter-long scroll onto the ground and kneeled down on top of it. Haku whirled around and sent needles flying at him, but Naruto was faster and a hollow cover of thick steel appeared around him like a turtle's shell, blocking the needles with faint thuds. That was when Naruto set off the explosive tags that he had planted all around the house.

This time the explosion was like nothing he had felt before: Within the darkness of his metal shell, the thunderous roar of splintering wood and blasting fire reverberated hollowly inside his ears. When the roof came crashing down on top of him the steel rang like a bell, and the sound that split through his ears was so deafening that he felt certain it was the last thing he would ever hear. Finally the cacophony subsided, and Naruto saw that a thick beam of broken wood had carved a hole along the side of his shell and nearly impaled him.

Pushing out with both legs, Naruto kicked the heavy cover onto its side and crawled out. There in the open air beneath the pale starlight he found his enemy, crouching amongst the burned and shattered pile of rubble that had been someone's house. All around Haku lay shattered fragments of ice, and Naruto knew then that his enemy had done the same as him – forming a thick dome of ice to shield against the blast. Haku had lost his mask along with the frozen eye, and Naruto could see his lips moving, but through the ringing in his ears he could not make out a word of what was said.

 _It doesn't matter._ He shook his head to clear the cobwebs. _I'm still not gonna let you kill Tazuna-san, no matter what you say._ To his faint relief, he saw that the solid stone basement was still intact, only the entrance having been covered with loose rubble.

Struggling to his feet, Haku started forming a sequence of seals once more, and Naruto had no choice but to throw himself at his foe as well. The distance between them closed slowly, far too slowly, and even before it happened he could see Haku's seals finishing first. Naruto watched as his ninjatō stopped moving, halting just barely in front of his opponent's face, its reach just a little too short. Looking down, he saw that the shards of ice had risen up at Haku's command and impaled his body from every angle.

 _Oh._

Haku's lips moved again, and though Naruto could not hear the words, the look on his face said it all.

 _Yeah… I'm sorry too._

The world blackened as he fell, leaving him blissfully free of pain. Haku had been merciful, after all.


	19. Fire and Ice, part two

"… _wake up!"_

Naruto stirred feebly. He had been dreaming, but he could not recall what it had been about. All he remembered was a world buried in snow and ice, and it had been cold, so very cold… but now it seemed someone had lit a fire in his room, for which he was grateful. He sought to edge closer to the flames, but something barred his way.

" _ **Wake up!"**_

This time the voice was loud enough to reach Naruto, and some of its urgency carried over. His eyes opened languidly, and as he looked at his surroundings he blinked. He was lying in a pool of colourless liquid, and between him and the fire there was a titanic gate, iron bars reaching up towards a ceiling so high that it made him feel as though he were falling. At last the memory of what had happened came back to him, and he looked to investigate his body. Some of his wounds were so large that he could have stuck half a hand through, and the foul black liquid that seeped out slowly added to the pool of water and tainted it.

" _ **Hurry, child. Your time is running short. Undo the seal on your stomach, and let my restorative chakra flow freely with yours. I may still be able to heal your wounds, but we must act swiftly."**_

Naruto looked up at the being of living fire, the flames seeming to dance and flicker before his eyes. It looked smaller than he remembered, and weaker – appearing almost frail in spite of its vast power. "Kyūbi? How… how come you're talking to me? I thought Jiraiya had to undo the seal for that to happen."

" _ **All techniques require chakra to function, and this one draws upon your own. As your power fades, so does the seal's – but there's no time to consider. If you lose consciousness again, I do not think I could still restore you. Hurry and suppress the chakra flowing through your stomach, before it is too late."**_

Naruto's body half moved to do as he was told, finding it strangely easy to control what little chakra remained, but then stopped. "I can't," he said, realizing the truth of it even as he spoke. "I promised… I promised my dad I wouldn't set you free."

A single crimson eye appeared in the centre of the flames, and it stared at him, uncomprehending.

" _ **A promise? You do not understand, child. You are dying, and even if you were willing to accept that, the seal would be undone regardless. Though my chakra might be scattered to the winds, I would still be made anew within a few years' time. You have no reason whatsoever not to call upon my power."**_

He shook his head. "I can't. Made decision before, was smarter then. No reason to change mind." It was difficult to explain himself properly – his tongue was too thick, his thoughts were too slow, and he was tired; so very, very tired. He wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, and dream a dream more pleasant than the one he had before. Though even dreaming of nothing at all did not seem so terrible to him, now. It was becoming harder to remember, why that prospect had once made him so afraid.

The fire lashed out like a claw, dragging its molten talons along the bars with a terrible screeching sound that jolted Naruto awake. _**"I do not know what manner of tales you grew up with, child, but there is no blissful afterlife waiting for you upon your death. Did they fill your head with dreams of eternal sunshine? There is no such thing! No rebirth, no torment, no fire or judgment… only darkness!"**_

"I know." The fire was starting to go out, and Naruto clutched himself tightly, and shivered. "But I made a promise to my dad."

" _ **Your father is dead."**_ Naruto looked up. _**"Is that what moves you? Do you imagine yourself to be a hero like him? The Fourth sacrificed everything and died for nothing – they raised him up to be a martyr and trod on his dreams not even ten minutes after he fell. My mind touched upon his own as he sealed me, so I know: Losing his team and winning the war, becoming Hokage and losing his wife… he would have taken it all back if he only could. In the end, all he wanted was for you to be safe."**_

"…it doesn't matter." Naruto looked away, for the fire had grown brighter, and the heat was stinging his eyes. "That doesn't change anything at all…" He still had a father left, and that one had never asked him to stay safe. " _I already know,"_ Jiraiya had told him back then. There had been no doubt in his voice at all.

There was a long moment of silence, and Naruto almost fell asleep again, but then the voice spoke once more, sounding strangely subdued. _**"I did not tell you the whole truth before. If you die and my chakra is scattered, I will be reborn eventually, yes… but in what form? I once had a family, ever so long ago… one of my brothers was called Ibosu, the Three-tailed Leviathan of the Sea. After his host died, I waited long years for him to return, but when he did I could not recognize him. His memories and everything that defined him was simply… gone. One by one, I watched the same happen to all the others, watched as my brothers and sisters were reduced to mere shadows of their former selves, knowing the same would one day happen to me and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I am the last one left."**_

Naruto closed his eyes, and found it too difficult to open them again. "I'm sorry."

" _ **Are you waiting for me to beg? Do you wish to see the last and greatest of the Nine plead for mercy? Is that it? Then you may discard that thought right now. I refuse! Even having come this far, I shall not sacrifice my pride. Your kind may have taken everything else from us, but this you will never have."**_

"Then… there's something you value more than freedom, after all." _He's afraid of the dark, same as me…_

" _ **There has to be. There must always be at least one thing that you will never sacrifice for any goal – something that is worth defending purely for its own sake. Otherwise, what is the point?"**_

The fire crackled softly as Naruto rested, and the bars cast long shadows across his face. He could not see the Kyūbi anymore, but he felt the warmth of the fire on his skin, and he could not help but smile.

" _ **Do you find this funny? Does this situation amuse you, boy?"**_

"No… I'm sorry. It's just…" He slowly opened his eyes, and closed them again. "My dad told me that, one day, people would… understand each other. And if, if even we can come to talk like this… maybe, maybe it's not so hopeless… after all…"

As Naruto slipped into oblivion, the last he heard was a _roar_ of fire as the Kyūbi clawed at the gates with all his might, rattling the iron bars with a deafening sound and screaming his defiance at the darkness. As the flames flickered and waned, the slightest, smallest amount of heat poured through.

-o-

 _-Minutes earlier-_

The shattered remnants of his ice-dome barrier rained down around Haku, as the remainder of the house collapsed in a pile of timber and stone. Even with both hands pressed against the inside of the barrier and focusing chakra into the ice to strengthen it, the explosions had almost been too much – but in the end he had managed. Before him, the summoned metal shell finally stopped ringing with that awful hollow sound, and as it tumbled over his opponent was revealed beneath.

Haku looked at the figure uncertainly: He thought he could see blood, but his vision was still blurred from the flash of light that had blinded him, as well as from the final blast that destroyed his barrier and brought him to his knees.

He coughed. "Are you… the real one?"

Naruto shook his head, and as Haku formed the seals for his next technique, the boy charged with sword in hand. It was not until after Naruto had impaled himself onto a dozen shards of ice that Haku realized his mistake. _He was only trying to clear his head…_

"Wait," he said. "I didn't mean to…"

The boy coughed up blood, then slumped over, falling onto the ground with frozen shards still jutting out of him. The ice did not melt until the technique ended, and when it did the melt water pooled together with the blood and ash, forming a puddle of foul sludge on the scorched and blackened ground.

"I'm sorry…"

Haku stared at the fallen boy for a while longer, but finally he tore his gaze away and forced himself to focus on the present. He felt around his chest for the needle that had pierced his ribs, pulled it out and let it clatter onto the ground. He then formed another ice mirror – this one large enough for him to step through and disappear in an instant if need be – though it took much of his remaining chakra to do so. He skimmed the surrounding area through each of the miniature portals that he had set up all around the village and the forest, searching for any sign of his master. Zabuza was still nowhere to be found.

In the corner of Haku's vision, the bridge builder was slowly edging his way up the stone stairs and out of the basement – as though a civilian could ever hope to escape a ninja like that. Haku half-considered letting him go in honour of Naruto's death, but he realized that was foolish – If killing Tazuna had been worth killing Naruto over, then surely it would be inconsistent to let the bridge-builder live now?

Right in that moment Haku sensed a presence behind him, and he spun around with his tantō drawn. There was a figure standing in the snow scant meters away from him, though in the starlit darkness he appeared as little more than a silhouette outlined against the fires that still gripped the village outskirts.

Haku hastily stepped backwards, fumbling behind him with his fingers until he felt the frozen edge of his portal. He did not relax until the translucent barrier of ice could be seen in front of him and the scenery in his peripherals transformed to that of a quiet forest glade. Only when he felt certain he was safe did he examine the figure more carefully, his vision still painfully blurry from the flash tags of before.

"Your name is Sasuke, isn't it?" he asked. "Are you here to avenge your fallen comrade?"

The newcomer looked at the prone form of his fallen teammate for a long moment. "No," he said at last. "He's… not my comrade. In truth, I think he hated me: I did something to hurt him a long time ago, and I don't believe he ever forgave me for it. Even now, seeing him lie there, I don't feel a single thing."

Somehow, the way he said it, Haku found it easy to believe. "Then I see no reason for us to fight."

The younger boy exchanged a look with the bridge builder, who grimaced before replying. "It's all right lad, don't worry about me. You don't have to get yourself killed on my account. Just…" He seemed to hesitate. "I know you owe me less than nothing, but…"

Sasuke walked directly towards the open shelter, and Haku tensed in alarm, but all the boy did was to put an arm on the old man's shoulder. "I understand," he said. He turned back to Haku, his expression neutral. "I would like to take the fallen with me. In Konoha as in the Land of Waves, we bury our dead."

Haku could not find it in himself to refuse him. "Do as you wish."

"Thank you." The boy walked up to Naruto's body and kneeled on one leg, yet paused in reaching out to him. "Just one question, before I leave. That man you serve, Zabuza. Does he… _matter_ , to you?"

Haku nodded mutely.

Sasuke completed his movement and carefully picked Naruto up, draping the dead boy over his arms. "You must realize that you don't matter to him," he said. "You are only a tool to him, to be used and discarded. Why would you care for someone like that?"

"Reason has nothing to do with it," said Haku. "For all that we rationalize our actions, it is our emotions that make us what we are, and we can't choose the ones we love."

"I used to believe that." Sasuke slowly stood up, half turning his back to Haku as he rose with his burden. "From a young age, my parents taught me that family is all that matters. Right or wrong, through good times or bad, the clan must stick together. The person who exhibited this quality most of all was my brother, a prodigy who sacrificed everything for the good of the clan and the Village, and I wished to grow up to be just like him." When he turned to face Haku, there was a glimmer in his black eyes. "But I was wrong: It turned out that the person I admired was only an illusion. So you see; it is possible to be mistaken about who you are, and how you feel."

Haku stared back at him, a strange sense of apprehension coming over him as he regarded the boy. Still, with both arms full and his guard lowered, his opponent could hardly be in a worse position to fight him.

"I grew up in a snowy village in the Land of Water," he replied at length. "My mother had a special bloodline, but after years of suffering the horror of civil war, the people of my land had come to hate and fear anyone who carried a bloodline power. So when she discovered that I had inherited the same ability, she sought to hide it from the others." He gestured towards the snow falling all around them, covering the ground in a white sheen in those areas where the fires could not reach. "When my father found out, he and the others lashed out and killed her, and I was forced to flee. I was… alone, forced to fend for myself in a world that despised me. When master Zabuza found me, I was fighting off stray dogs for the privilege of raiding a trash bin for scraps of food. He saved me from that fate. He gave me a reason to exist, and for that I owe him everything. So you see: It is more than just a feeling."

"I see. So you're saying that what matters is not who a person is, but it's their actions that count. Even if you love someone they can be deserving of hate, and although reason is a slave to emotion, feelings are still ultimately to be dictated by facts." Sasuke nodded slowly. "…I suppose I can accept that. Thank you." He half turned again and made to leave, but then he _twisted_ around and his eyes were crimson and _spinning inside their sockets-_

 _Sharingan!_

Haku staggered in shock as the world vanished around him, and that one moment nearly cost him his life as he flared his chakra and dodged to one side only for the tip of a blade to come _scraping_ against his left shoulder and tearing blood from his arm. He ducked and rolled away from his attacker, and he only then realized that he had _never stepped through the portal at all;_ it had all been an illusion.

He dashed towards the open sheet of ice just scant meters ahead of him, but several kunai attached to wire strings flew from the side and wrapped around the frozen mirror, and he had to shield himself as the blast from the explosive tags attached to the handles showered him with broken ice. Then Sasuke was upon him, his sword raining sparks against Haku's own. A flurry of rapid blows forced Haku back as his mind finally caught up with what was happening.

 _He's trying to prevent me from forming seals, but…_

Even as Haku parried a powerful sword strike with one hand, his other formed the necessary seal: His enemy's eyes widened in surprise as Haku slammed his foot down and deadly water needles rose from the sludge to strike his target from every direction. His foe leaped upwards, a burst of chakra from his feet carrying him to safety, but Haku had gained the breathing space he needed: Another hand sign sent more water needles chasing after Sasuke, while his right hand threw a volley of regular needles as well, and though his enemy parried nearly all of them his body was still pierced in several places.

 _You missed your chance to kill me; from this point onward, all you can do is run._

But even as he thought that, his foe planted his sword into the ground and flicked through a series of hand seals at an incredible rate. All around them the fires of the burning buildings rose up into the air and gathered into a firestorm that lit up the sky, bearing down on Haku and _roaring_ with the smouldering fury of a fully-powered Fire Dragon technique.

 _Impossible!_

With no time to think, Haku dashed back towards the only area that offered shelter, which was the same storm cellar that the bridge builder had gone back to hiding in. Haku ducked and rolled down the stairs, barely managing to close the entrance behind him with a wall of ice as the dragon's roar reached its fiery crescendo.

 _There's no reason to fight – I'll just kill my target and teleport out of here._

The bridge builder had just enough time to look surprised before Haku slashed his throat open, and the old man fell upon the ground gurgling blood, the sound of his dying matched by the sizzling of an explosive tag placed on his back right where Sasuke had put an arm on his shoulder.

 _-What-_

The explosion threw Haku backwards, pain lancing through his wounded shoulder as his back collided with a wall. Through his blurred vision he saw chunks of blood and rock and shards of ice rain down all around him, and he realized he must have raised another wall of ice in time to save his life. For just one moment there was a ray of light pouring down from the shattered entrance, but then a shadow stepped in its path, and pure darkness roiled into the room-

(Haku's senses were overwhelmed by pure _killing intent_ , a sense of pain and hate and so much more)

-and at the same time a wave of scorching heat appeared from out of nowhere, and it was all Haku could do to stamp his foot and raise yet another wall of ice to block the attack. The barrier of frozen water appeared just in time to block the vengeful fire, the tongues of flame licking thirstily at its melting surface before receding once more. In the pitch-black silence that followed, Haku could hear droplets of water fall upon the stone floor in tandem with the frantic beating of his own heart.

Twin orbs of red light appeared in the dark, turning and _twisting_ ; crimson eyes each with one pupil in the centre but with yet more in the shape of commas all around them. As Haku frantically lowered his gaze, he realized that the boy must be an Uchiha, one that had somehow survived his clan's massacre, but there was no time to consider the issue. Before him the darkness parted ever so slightly, just enough to show him a sword lit up with white-hot fire.

"Why?" he choked out. "I would have let you leave. There is no longer any reason for us to fight!" Even as he spoke, he shaped the hand seals for the ice-mirror technique behind his back, yet the portals refused to form – as though the oppressive darkness pushing down on him prevented his chakra from spreading. The burning blade began to carve its way into the ice with relentless strokes, and it was all he could do to pour his chakra into the wall to keep it standing.

"Because… it's possible to be mistaken, about how you feel," the voice replied in fits and starts, and Haku realized with a start that his enemy was _crying_ as he fought. He did not understand why that knowledge frightened him so much. Right then the blazing-hot sword stabbed _through_ the ice and scorched Haku's clothes and flesh – the agonizing heat stopping just barely short of his heart – only for it to be pulled back out again for another thrust. He collapsed to his knees, the smell of his own burning flesh filling his nostrils, but he could only watch as the searing blade came at him once more.

 _No. I can't die here… master Zabuza still has use of me!_

With a desperate effort Haku drew on his dwindling reserves of chakra, forming seals and stamping his foot once more. A dozen spears of ice burst from the ground and stabbed at the darkness, each of them splitting and bifurcating into ever more frozen spikes, filling the entire space with the same technique that had destroyed Hatake Kakashi's shadow clone. He could feel the walls of the cellar crumble and a section of the roof collapse under the strain, until finally the oppressive darkness retreated. At the top of the stairs, the silhouette of Uchiha Sasuke stood amidst a forest of frozen stalagmites where the entrance to the shelter had been, his slight form outlined against the waning orange light.

"I will take those eyes from you, Uchiha Sasuke," Haku breathed as he drew himself up to fight once more. "Even if master Zabuza could not kill the White Fang, we both shall still have the Sharingan. We will defeat the Eternal Tyrant if we must kill every last one of his followers by ourselves!"

In response, the darkness formed and gathered around his enemy once more. " _ **No, you won't**_ ," said the voice of Uchiha Sasuke, sounding strangely warped and distorted. " _ **You're going to die**_ **."** The blackness around him _twisted_ then, stretching and forming into limbs and tendrils of pure darkness that coiled around him, his body reshaping itself and turning into something _wrong_.

 _More genjutsu? But I didn't look into his eyes!_

Haku flared his chakra, but though the darkness receded it never vanished entirely, and the moment he let up it came back stronger than before. The world shifted painfully, space itself seeming to bend around his enemy as the creature that was once Uchiha Sasuke sprouted yet more black tentacles. All around him the darkness spread like a plague, taking on countless monstrous shapes and forms, every one of them covered with baleful crimson eyes that looked down on Haku. " _ **Mistaken**_ _",_ said the dread voice, which no longer resembled anything human, and it was echoed by countless thin whispers coming from all around him. _"_ _ **You are so… mistaken**_ _."_

 _No! Stay away!_

Haku scrambled backwards, but his back was against the wall. Blood pounded in his head as his fingers blindly struggled to form the hand seals for the ice-mirror technique, but at last his chakra took hold. A portal opened up beneath his feet, and as he began to fall the black tentacles reached for him. _I'm not falling fast enough, not fast enough, they're going to get me-_

With a sudden clap Haku struck the forest floor, and he rushed to close the ice portal shut behind him. _Made it I made it I made it I made it…_

A brief panic rose up in Haku when the world turned dark once more, but it was only unconsciousness that took hold of him.

-o-

Sakura leaped through a window of the building she had used as a vantage point, and hit the ground at a run. The original plan had been for Sasuke to body-flicker into sword-range of Haku while using that strange darkness technique of his, but that plan had been discarded when they saw Naruto fall with Haku's portal already open. After that Sasuke had improvised, and it had taken several carefully timed genjutsu techniques on Sakura's part to rescue the situation. Even so it had almost gone wrong, and Haku had escaped regardless…

She nearly tripped over Naruto's body as she ran. He still lay in front of the shelter where they had fought, mercifully unmarred by the explosions that had ravaged the nearby area. Even so his body had been pierced in a dozen places, ghastly wounds from which so much blood had spread that his clothes were brown with it. She knelt down next to him, and her own heart skipped a beat as she felt for a pulse.

A familiar voice came to her, sounding strangely small and distant. "Is he..?"

She looked up and saw Sasuke standing in front of her. The darkness and the fire had all faded, but even so he was little more than a shadow, covered in soot and standing against the backdrop of waning orange light.

"He's still alive," she whispered, her voice sounding strange to her own ears. There was the faintest possible pulse running between her fingers where she touched Naruto's wrist. "It'd take a miracle, but… I just might be able to save him, if I get started right away."

"That's good," Sasuke said weakly. "I'm glad." Then he collapsed onto the ground in a heap.

"Sasuke-kun!" She scrambled over to his side, running faster than she knew she could, and as she crouched over him she witnessed for the first time the full extent of his injuries. Several iron needles punctured his chest and stomach, but that was the least of it. All along his body he was covered in piercing wounds from where spears of ice had been cruelly driven into him from every angle. Blood seeped out of him from every point. _How did he manage to even stand like this, let alone fight?_

"Naruto…" Sasuke whispered, blood trickling from his mouth. "He's… innocent. You must… save him."

She half-turned to look at the prone form of her other childhood friend, and for a moment she was torn with indecision. _"The time may come when you have to choose between the lives of your friends,"_ her teacher had told her once, and it was only then that she realized what those two bells truly represented. It had all seemed so distant and abstract, back then, but now the choice was painfully real.

 _Do I save the person who's been my friend since childhood, or my crush?_

And then, without any conscious decision ever having been made, she began healing the body of the person who was most precious to her. A warm green glow emanated from her hands and passed over his chest, the light slowly closing his wounds as they went.

"…why?" Sasuke's dark eyes were filled with incomprehension.

"Don't ask me," she whispered, her tears falling onto his body as she worked. "It's not like I understand it, either."

-o-

As Hatake Kakashi rode through the village on his wolfhound, his apprehension grew with each passing second. On either side of him, the fires that had gripped the village were finally going out. The blackened skeletons that had once been houses were all that still stood upright, except where those too had collapsed in upon themselves, turning into ever more ash and dust upon the ground until the streets were thick with it.

 _Am I too late? Obito, Rin, please don't let me be too late again!_

At last he arrived before the only part of the village that still stood tall, close to the massacre where the villagers had made their stand. There, at last, he found what remained of his genin team. He dispelled his summoned mount and walked up to his student.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura ran up to him, frantically sobbing, and grabbed him tightly. "You've got to help! I stabilized Sasuke, but I couldn't help Naruto in time, and now he's, he's…" She pulled him towards the others as she gave a jumbled account of what had happened, sobbing and heaving all the while.

Sasuke was lying unconscious on the ground, looking terribly injured yet breathing faintly, but Naruto…

On the ground, covered in a layer of soot and clotted blood, the body of Uzumaki Naruto was spread out onto a meter-long sealing scroll, his body covered in wounds from which blood had long since stopped flowing.

"I tried to seal him so we could bring him back to the hospital in Konoha," Sakura explained, "but I couldn't figure out how! I never learned to use scrolls, and his body still has chakra and I don't know how to drain it so I can't seal him for preservation, and now he's gone and… it's is all my fault!"

"Sakura?" He made his voice as reassuring as he could manage, given the circumstances. "Don't worry, you did a great job. Now let me just take a quick look at him, okay?" He gently disentangled himself from her and strode towards Naruto's still form, where a quick analysis confirmed that the boy's heart was no longer beating. By his count, Minato's son had breathed his last some three minutes ago.

"I'm so _sorry_. I never meant to let him die, only Sasuke was dying too, and I had to make a choice, and-"

"Sakura, why don't you go take care of Sasuke while I handle this?" Without waiting for a reply, Kakashi lifted Naruto's jacket with one hand and exposed the boy's bare midriff underneath. He sent chakra to each of his five fingers in preparation for the five-element unlocking seal, and drove his hand into Naruto's stomach before sharply turning it counter-clockwise.

At first nothing seemed to happen. Then, the sprawling lines of the Dead Daemon Seal manifested on the boy's stomach, and Naruto burst into life: The boy twisted, flailed and _moaned_ in agony as daemonic red chakra spread to cover his entire body. Where the baleful chakra touched him, his skin burned and bubbled with a terrible stench, yet at the same time the flesh around the holes in his body reknit itself. As Kakashi watched, the wounds vanished into nothingness, until only a hale and healthy lad remained. He gave the seal a clockwise turn to close it, and Naruto gasped one more time before falling into blissful unconsciousness, drawing short and ragged breaths as he slept.

"See, he's perfectly all right," Kakashi said, hiding his burned and smoking fingers behind his back. He could not help but smile a little at Sakura's horrified expression. "It's just a matter of carefully applied medical-ninjutsu. It's the same principle as healing that trout, really: As long as the patient is none too bright to begin with, no real lasting damage is done."

"But, that… he…" Sakura's mouth was slowly opening and closing, much like the fish Kakashi had been referring to. "But he was, he – that's not _possible_."

"Now, now," he chided, smiling. "What did I say about doubting your brilliant and handsome sensei?"

After making Sakura promise not to tell anybody about his 'amazing secret medical technique', Kakashi proceeded to examine Sasuke, and attended to his injuries as well. He watched over his charges until the sun rose on the horizon and basked the area in a new orange light. When he was done he surveyed his handiwork with satisfaction. The mission had failed, the client was dead and the village had burned, but Team Seven had survived without any casualties. In the end, that was all that truly mattered.

All things considered, everything had turned out quite all right.


	20. Resolve and Resolution

Team Seven stood in silent remembrance. Four graves were arrayed before them, mirroring the four ninjas with almost perfect symmetry. The birds were chirping merrily, the sun shone with not a cloud in the sky and all seemed right in the world once more – yet appearances are oft deceiving, and if the people on that hill had no outwardly visible injuries, that did not mean that they had no wounds to bear.

They were standing on the same hillock where Zabuza and Haku had stood, each side overlooking the village from their own perspective while discussing the coming battle. The events of that day and the next kept repeating themselves in Naruto's head, over and over, as he sought to make sense of it all.

He turned to his teacher, and asked the same question of before. "Kakashi-sensei… why is there war?"

His teacher gave him a lengthy sidelong glance before replying. "You know why: You just witnessed it." Kakashi still relied on a makeshift crutch to stand – the result of overexerting himself in his fight against Zabuza and the events leading up to it. Although he was not leaning on it as heavily as two days ago, it still felt wrong to see the famous ninja look so very mortal. "In order to be effective tools, shinobi must be relied on to obey their orders unquestioningly," he added. "But different people are loyal to different masters, who each have different aims. When those aims conflict, the result is war."

It was almost the exact same answer as the one Haku had given him.

"It shouldn't have to be that way." Naruto gestured sullenly at the burned-out wreckage of the village below, which had proven impossible to salvage. After healing the injured as best they could, the surviving villagers had been forced to move inland, in search of other places to make their home. "These people had nothing to do with any of this. The only reason they were killed is because we didn't want them to die! Can't everyone agree to just… not _do_ that sort of thing?"

"We could," Kakashi agreed. "We could all agree to never kill or steal or lie, and the world would be better for it if we did. But then, the moment one party became stronger than the others, they would realize it's to their advantage to break those rules. That's why the First Hokage made it his mission to capture the nine Tailed Beasts, and divide them amongst the elemental nations. He believed that if we were all equally powerful, it would no longer be to anyone's advantage to wage war. We would have no choice but to cooperate."

"But it didn't work," Sakura said softly. "The wars only became bigger and bloodier, and they lasted longer. It made no difference that it wasn't to anyone's advantage; people simply aren't rational. They fought because they were angry about friends who had died in the past, because they were afraid others would attack first, or because they believed things that simply weren't true and were too stubborn to admit they were wrong about."

Naruto stared hard at the graves before him. "But then we should have less war as people learn more and become smarter. Instead it's like it doesn't change anything at all: Smart people only invent better reasons for doing the same stupid things." He clenched his fists as he recalled the realization which had not even come to him until after the immediate danger ended. "Haku had the ability to _teleport_. Instant travel and communication, and he used it to _kill people_. He could have helped to save the world…"

"But he didn't want to save the world," Sasuke pointed out. "He wanted to do whatever his master told him to, and Zabuza wanted to take over the Land of Water." He shook his head. "That's the mistake Hashirama made, and the reason he and Uchiha Madara had their falling out. Hashirama was naïve enough to think that people were innately good and desired peace, and so he wanted to give the Tailed Beasts away. Madara thought humans were bastards who would always long for war, and decided that the only way to secure peace was to gather so much power that nobody would ever think to challenge their might. Hashirama won their final duel, but it seems to me that Madara won the argument."

 _Was that what it had been about?_ Jiraiya had made Madara out to be some sort of violent madman, but wanting to protect his Village from his best friend's naivity seemed almost commendable. Even if he were still alive, would someone like that really have burned down the Leaf just to kill Naruto's father?

Naruto kept staring at the graves before him, as well as the simple wooden posts that marked them. There were four of them in a row, one for each of the people whose names they knew. The rest of the villagers had been buried by their surviving kin or had their remains gathered in a mass grave close to the ruins of the village. It seemed _wrong_ , that so much death would change so little – that the rest of the world would keep on going like nothing happened, but that was the way it was.

He recalled the image of Tsunami, recounting the tale of her husband's death as she washed the dishes, bowing low before them and begging them to avenge his death. It had been the wrong thing to ask. She should have begged them to take her father and son to Konoha instead, or somewhere else where they would be safe. But Naruto should still have done it, even if she had not thought to ask.

"That's settled, then," he said at last. "If we're going to fix this stupid, broken world, we're just gonna have to become stronger. We'll become so amazing that everyone will have no choice but to listen to us, and we'll succeed even if everybody else failed, simply because we've got no choice. Then we'll make everything better, and we'll just make doubly sure not to make any mistakes that only end up making things worse like the First Hokage did."

Both Sakura and Kakashi smiled at him then, and even Sasuke wore that enigmatic little half-smile of his. For the briefest moment, it was like everything was back to the way it used to be.

"Well," said Kakashi, "I guess that wraps it up. My legs are getting tired, so…" He started walking down the hill with his wooden crutch, but stopped when he realized that only Sakura was following him.

"I'm gonna stay a little bit longer," said Naruto. "I need some time to think."

"Yeah," said Sasuke. "Same here."

Kakashi nodded. "All right, we'll see you at the base of the hill, then. Take care, children." Their sensei walked off into the distance with slow and painful movements, Sakura shooting worried glances over her shoulder as she went along.

As they left, Naruto's gaze shifted to the smallest of the four graves. They had put Inari's resting place next to that of his father, because that is what they thought he would have wanted. A set of unused fishing hooks was displayed before it, like a tribute to gods and spirits that none of them believed in. Those rituals had not changed either, for all that they understood the underlying reality of it.

"I gave him an explosive tag," Naruto whispered, sounding disbelieving even to himself. "I taught him how to mould chakra. I encouraged him to fight, even though he was only a child…"

"Everybody is a child to somebody," Sasuke assured him. He had his hands in his pockets and he was slouching as usual, but somehow he looked more genuine – as though he had cast off a protective layer and left himself vulnerable. "If only responsible adults were allowed to make decisions, nobody would ever do anything. You can't hold yourself responsible for the choices other people make."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly – he was only half-listening. "I've spent a lot of time thinking, the last few days, about all the dumb stuff I've done. About the mistakes I made, and how needlessly reckless I've been. But even now, I still don't get why Inari changed his mind so quickly. He was so bent on how pointless it was to fight against Gato and how everything would go all wrong, and then the next day he's suddenly all about gaining power and protecting his family, and I don't get _why_."

Sasuke shifted his weight uncomfortably, moving from one foot to the next. "I don't think he ever meant any of it. Not really. He was probably just looking for an excuse to change his mind."

Naruto turned to face his teammate. Perhaps it was the way he said it, or just the fact that Naruto had never seen Sasuke look uncomfortable before, but that was the moment he knew. "It was _you_."

"What?"

"That night – you left me and Sakura at the dinner table with Tsunami, while Kakashi and Tazuna were getting the beds set up. Where _were_ you? You went to Inari's room, and you convinced him to fight, didn't you? You're the one that got him killed!"

"No! I never – I never meant to..."

The horrified look on Sasuke's face was all the confirmation Naruto needed, and the smouldering fury that welled up inside him brought new certainty in its wake. "What Kakashi said back at the training grounds, about how you convinced us to fight Gato just so you could get some combat experience… what did he mean by that?" Before Sasuke could give an answer, the next realization hit him. "You were complaining about the lack of combat missions even back in Konoha, and then we get a C-rank mission the next day – but of course the _Lord Uchiha_ would be able to pull some strings to make that happen! And then it turns out we're up against one of the Seven Swordsmen, what're the odds of that? Tricking us into accepting a dangerous mission – was that Tazuna's plan to save some money, or did you whisper that idea in his ear too?"

"What? No, that's _insane_! How the hell could I have known about any of that?"

"You could've used the Sharingan to read the minds of any civilians heading for the mission office! You've been itching for a fight right from the start. Edging me on to take more risks, keeping Sakura quiet, and then right when it gets dangerous you hide away and let me fight Haku all by myself. _Why_?"

"I went back for you, you ungrateful – I saved your life!"

"I never asked for you to save me! All I wanted was to protect Tazuna-san, but you, you _blew him up_! We had to _scrape his body off the stones of the basement_ , and there _still_ wasn't enough left of him to fill his grave!" Naruto clenched his fists, and in tandem with the heaving of his chest he could feel angry tears forcing their way out through his eyes. "All I wanted... all I ever wanted was to save somebody!"

For a second it was silent, only the sound of Naruto own heart beating in his chest as he tried vainly to get his feelings back under control. He looked up again, fearing what he would see.

"Tazuna was already dead." The compassionate boy of before was gone, and in his place the cold and merciless Lord Uchiha stood once more. "He was dead before I detonated the explosive tag, and he was dead before I placed it. A part of him died when he decided to fight Gato, and a greater part of him died when he got ninjas involved. But even before then, the bridge builder died when he made the fatal mistake of being born a civilian." Danger seemed to waft from Sasuke as he spoke those words. When Naruto looked he saw that there was nothing there, but he could have sworn the air was colder and emptier than it had been before. "In this world, all people ever do is use and abuse each other; if you have no power your life is worth less than nothing, and you can't but expect people to treat you accordingly. I thought you would have learned that by now, _Naruto_."

Naruto flinched, as much from the raw strength of Sasuke's presence as from the words he spoke. It had sounded far too much like what _he_ had sometimes thought, silently and only ever to himself, about the way people treated _him_. When others walked over you like you were not even there, it was hard to think otherwise than that this was simply the way humans _were_. That if this was the way you were treated if you had no power, if that was how people acted when they had the slightest excuse, then maybe human nature was no more salvageable than the burned-out remains of the village below. And if that was the case, then maybe all his talk of saving the world was just one more instance of Naruto being stupidly stubborn, like the way he had risked everything just to save Tazuna's life. If that was the case, surely the rational response was to just give up, and find something less painful to do with his time?

Naruto took one more look at the graves, and knew his answer. "No."

"What do you mean, _no_?"

"I mean I decline your invitation to join you in depression," Naruto replied. "You keep saying how dark and hopeless everything is, like you're trying to convince yourself it's okay not to try and make things a little better. That's not even a real worldview: You're just a scared little boy who's mad at the world." He looked up at the sky, where the sun was still shining, and the birds were singing happily to announce the new day. "I don't really know what happened to you and your clan that made you like this, but I guess it must've been pretty bad, huh? It's okay though, Sasuke-kun… one day I'll fix everything even if you don't, and I'll be sure to fill the world with extra rainbows and puppies, just for you."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to strike him then and there, but he visibly held himself back. "Sakura was right about you, Naruto," he bit out instead. "You really are _unbearably_ naïve!"

* * *

From the base of the hill Sakura watched the distant figures arguing, and let out a long sigh. "Can you believe those two? We barely have a moment's peace, and they look about ready to declare a new war."

Beside her, Kakashi-sensei gave a mild shrug. "That's just what boys are like at that age. You should have seen me and Obito, back in the day: The way we used to go at each other's throats would have made those two look like lifelong friends in comparison."

His one eye was misting over ever so slightly, as it usually did when he brought up the past, and Sakura frowned as she remembered what he had told them back when all of this started. "You never did finish telling us that story, Kakashi-sensei. What really happened after Rin got captured and you and Obito had your falling out, if you don't mind me asking?"

He rubbed his masked chin, reflecting. "Well... there's not much to say, really. I wanted to save my friends, but I didn't. I wanted to do the right thing, but it all went wrong. And now they're dead, and I'm not. That's about it." Sakura gave him a dubious look, wondering if her enigmatic teacher was just being mysterious on purpose or if there was more to it. "Anyway," he continued, "I really did mean that part about how you should try to figure these things out for yourself. Just look at how I fought Zabuza – you were able to figure out what I did back then, right?"

"You left us," she whispered. "I tried to convince myself that you were only trying to draw them away from us, but I knew…" She swallowed. "I knew what you did because I asked myself what I would do in your situation, and I thought that you could not hope to defeat Zabuza and Haku at the same time, not when you had so little chakra left. But, if one of them were to be preoccupied for some reason, then…" She stopped, unable to continue, staring hard at the leaf-littered ground.

Kakashi let out a long sigh. "I'm afraid I'm not a very good person, Sakura-chan. I can't really afford to be, in my line of work. After all the things I've done and everything I've been through, I consider any mission that does not end with a dead comrade to be a success. I did manage to protect some good people along the way, though... I'm hoping that counts for something. Perhaps one of them can do something about the state of the world for me. Who knows? It might even be you."

"Me?" Sakura wanted to laugh. "I didn't even _do_ anything. All I did was to support Naruto and Sasuke-kun with some genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. And then, when Naruto fought all by himself against Haku in the snow and ice, I couldn't stop him from – I mean, I couldn't stop Haku from escaping…"

"You're being too hard on yourself," Kakashi said. "I don't know half of what happened out there, but as I understand it you stopped the team from falling apart while I was gone. During your first real mission, you fought off an army of bandits, aided in the defence of a village, saved Sasuke's life, helped defeat a powerful enemy with a bloodline limit and then saved Sasuke's life again. That's not half bad."

"I suppose," she said, frowning. "But, if both Haku and Zabuza survived, what's stopping them from trying again in the future? Will we always have to watch our backs now, knowing somebody could teleport into our room at any moment and kill us while we sleep?"

There was a moment of silence as Kakashi considered this. They looked to the top of the hillock, where two figures were finally starting to make their way back down, keeping as much distance between them as the size of the hill allowed.

"No," he said at last. "No… I don't think so. From what I understand, Haku at least was hurt severely, and his range for creating those portals seems to be fairly limited. More importantly, I have a sneaking suspicion that Zabuza will have others things on his mind for the near future..."

She asked him what he meant by that, but her sensei only smiled at her through his mask in reply, seeming to be quite pleased with himself for some reason.

* * *

Using the reflection in his bedroom mirror as his guide, Gato tidied his whiskers with a fine comb, before wetting them and carefully shaping them into a narrow pointed moustache.

It would not make him look any more winsome to either his servants or his enemies, but he thought it important to keep up his personal grooming for the sake of his own sense of self-worth if nothing else. After all, if you did not even respect yourself, how could you ever expect others to take you seriously? That was why he dressed in black formal kimonos and took the time to make himself presentable every morning, even if the rest of the world would still see him as nothing more than a man of below-average height with a homely face and an unfortunate high-pitched voice.

There had been a time when his younger self would have looked at him now and been appalled. Even when he was a child his stature had made him the object of mockery, but back then he still held out hope that he would grow up to be a strong and powerful man. The stories his mother told him had all been about the mysterious ninjas that travelled the world and carried out missions in secret, and so his dream had been to become a ninja like no other.

He had worked tirelessly, taking up odd jobs and saving money until finally he was able to travel all the way to Konoha to sign up for the Ninja academy trials. Yet before he had set even one foot past those he was told that he did not meet their standards. Not one to be dissuaded easily, he had sought out a rogue ninja to train him, but it was to no avail: He had not the strength nor the talent to manipulate chakra. Instead he became a successful shipping magnate, gaining ever more wealth and power until at last he could afford to hire his own ninja and samurai to serve him. In the end, all his rejections and disappointments had taught him the true meaning of power and made him a stronger man for it – even if the rest of the world did not recognize the fact.

He noted with some irritation that one of the hairs in his moustache refused to stick with the rest, and kept jutting out at odd angles no matter how he combed or wetted it. He reached for the clippers on his nightstand, only to let it clatter to the floor when he saw a second figure in the mirror leaning against the wall behind him.

"Hello, master Gato."

He twisted around and stumbled back in fear despite himself, scattering the items on his basin with a panicked motion of his arm. "Z-Zabuza-san, I hadn't expected to see you so soon, after-"

"After you set me up to die, you mean?" The great hulk of a man pushed himself upright with his sword, allowing him to loom over Gato with his full height. The man's limbs as well as his mouth were covered in bandages now, but somehow this only served to make him look even more fearsome. "I thought it strange that you would pay so much to kill a mere civilian, but it wasn't until Kakashi pointed it out that I realized just how little your lives are worth compared to ours. You could have easily killed that bridge builder yourself, but you waited for him to come back with the White Fang in tow before arranging for us to fight each other." He advanced menacingly. "Tell me: Did you have some plan to recover my body after Kakashi killed me, or were you hoping we would kill each other and reap the bounties on us both?"

"No, Z-Zabuza-san, you misunderstand! I trusted in your legendary abilities, that's all. I-I never imagined you could actually lose to him!" Gato scrambled away from Zabuza along the wall as far as he could, but then he reached a corner and could go no further. He frantically searched around his luxurious bedroom for some sign of rescue, but there was none to be seen.

A throaty chuckle emanated from Zabuza's chest, low and full of malice. "Your guards are not going to come save you, master Gato. Even if they weren't dead, mere samurai would be useless against a true ninja. To think that I let someone like you order me around – I was going to kill you for that insult alone, but now I think I'll take some time to teach you how insignificant you really are." The bandages lining his mouth twitched dangerously. "Then again… perhaps I'll just carve up your body right now!"

He hefted his Executioner's Blade up high, and it was all Gato could do to raise his arms in a vain attempt to shield himself from his onrushing death.

Several seconds later, he was still not dead.

When he opened his eyes he saw that the blade had stopped mid-motion, while Zabuza's entire body was trembling under the strain of some invisible force. Gato wasted no time in scrambling behind his four-poster bed, ducking down low even as a series of explosions brought down the walls around him. When he peered over his shelter to look, he saw that Zabuza's shaking body was surrounded by a dozen silent and faceless figures: Men and women in grey uniforms with green haori's, wearing white masks with narrow eye slits – The Hidden Mist's hunter-ninja division of the Anbu.

As his panic slowly subsided, Gato rose and dusted himself off with as much dignity as he could muster.

"Finally! What took you so long? I don't know if you lot _noticed_ , but that lunatic nearly cut me in half with that ridiculously oversized sword of his!" He gestured towards the torn and broken walls around him and the dust covering his fine carpet. "And did I ask you to destroy my bedroom while entering? No, I told you to operate the _exceedingly simple_ mechanism that opens the hidden doors to this room. But, I suppose that was too complicated an order for you savages to understand."

While the rest of the circle maintained their techniques, the leader of the group slowly turned his head to face Gato, managing to make his contempt clear with a single glance despite his mask. "The Mist's Anbu are not your pet army, Gato. We do not take orders from you."

In reply, Gato gave him the most assured sneer he could manage. "No, but you take orders from the Mizukage, don't you? Yagura has been very happy with our little arrangement so far, and he'll be even more pleased after I give him the person who tried to usurp his rule twice. I'll have you know that he already doubts your loyalties, _Ao of the Byakugan_. We wouldn't want to give your master reason to think you've turned traitor as well, now would we?"

In fact, Yagura had exactly as much contempt for Gato as every other ninja he met, but he saw no reason to mention the fact. Instead he grinned as Ao stepped away to let him pass, and kept grinning as he walked up to Zabuza's paralysed form. _A shame I couldn't get any more free service out of him: I had hoped Zabuza would kill the White Fang for me so I could reap his bounty too, but it was still good while it lasted._

He idly regarded his frozen and trembling captive, marveling at how helpless the ninja looked despite being so frightening mere moments ago. "Do you see now, Zabuza? True power has nothing to do with physical strength or mystical abilities; this is what you ninja could never understand! The only thing that matters in this world is the ability to devise plans and get other people to follow your orders. If you don't have that, you're nothing." He gave Zabuza a sharp kick in the ribs to drive home his point.

In response a wave of pure malevolence washed over Gato: Zabuza was surrounded by a purple shroud like an aura of raw _power_ , and suddenly he was lunging for Gato with one hand outstretched only for watery whips to coil around the massive ninja and bind him to the ground. The hunter-ninja formed a series of hand-seals and in an instant the purple chakra shroud was gone. All of it had happened in less than a second.

"What the – _what the blazes was that_?"

"That… shouldn't have been possible," Ao said with a note of shock in his normally dispassionate voice. "We calculated the amounts of chakra involved; we could have held even six jōnin-ranked ninja with that combination of paralysis techniques."

"Not _possible_?" Gato rounded on him. "You imbecile, do I have to explain to you how redundancy works? Proper planning doesn't mean accounting for the worst circumstance you can imagine, it means making it so that the circumstances are _entirely irrelevant to your plan's success_! Otherwise you fail the moment your imagination is found lacking, which it clearly is! Now, do I need to report this flagrant display of incompetence to Yagura?"

The head of the hunter Anbu shook his head slightly. "No."

"No _who_?"

"…no, Gato-sama."

"Better." Gato straightened his black formal kimono, still shaking from the shock of having come so close to death in what should have been his moment of triumph. The worst thing was that Ao's display of submission had not been sincere in the slightest: Gato could force others to acknowledge him in public, even to fear him despite his size, but in the privacy of their own heads they were still free to mock him.

 _All of them… they all think they are so much better than me…_

He strode up to his enemy's prone form once more, equipping himself with brass knuckles as he went. "You can't stand it, can you Zabuza?" He slammed the metal into Zabuza's side, and this time he was rewarded with the sharp sound of breaking ribs, though the paralysis techniques prevented the ninja from screaming out in pain. The next blow was aimed for the chin. "You can't handle the fact that I am–" there was a loud _crack_ as the iron shattered Zabuza's jaw "– _stronger_ than you!"

He landed blow after blow, laying into his foe until half the bones in the ninja's body were broken and all his bandages were soaked with fresh blood. It was exhausting work, but there was a certain satisfaction to it that no other worldly pleasure could replace. This was the only time he would ever be able to beat up a ninja as strong as Zabuza. _This is what I have worked for all my life… this is what I have lived for!_

"Enough." At last Ao stepped in to stop him, and Gato only reluctantly allowed Zabuza to be pulled away from him. "Yagura still wants him alive."

Gato cursed as he threw his brass knuckles to the ground, most of his rage brought on by the rush of adrenaline still unspent. "Don't think you're getting off easily, Zabuza: Yagura has ways of making you suffer I haven't even dreamt of. You'll pay for every single time you humiliated me!" He hurled some more curses after the rogue ninja as the Mist Anbu carried him to the door, but he halted when a crack appeared in the ceiling, and a section of the roof came crashing down with a thunderous noise.

Gato's vision was drowned by a pool of inky blackness, pure nothingness that appeared from out of nowhere and shrouded Zabuza and the Mist Anbu both. There was the sound of metal clashing upon metal amongst the din of falling masonry, and then a sudden explosion sent the hunter-ninjas scrambling backwards. For a moment Gato could just barely make out the silhouettes of Zabuza and a smaller newcomer within the shroud. Then Zabuza's arm made an impossibly swift and blurry movement, as though he were waving Gato goodbye, and with that he was gone – both he and the stranger had vanished, taking the unnatural darkness with them as if they had never been there at all.

Dust and pale light poured down from the broken ceiling, gathering on the carpet while the hunter-ninja stood there uselessly. Gato wanted to shout and curse at them, to call them worthless and order them to chase after Zabuza until the end of days, but something prevented him from speaking. Only when he looked down did he notice the metal object sticking out of his chest. As the ground rose up to meet him, he was acutely aware of the Mist ninjas' disdainful stares, the weight of their contempt pushing down on him as he fell.

In the end, he had not even been able to see the knife until it killed him.

 _How terribly unfair…_

* * *

 **A/N:** And that's it! That's the end of act 2. Please leave me a review to let me know what you thought of the arc, if it was sufficiently original compared to other Naruto stories you read, if you thought all the plot points were neatly resolved, or whatever else is on your mind right now. I always love seeing your feedback!

There will probably be a delay of one week as I get the next Act in order – it's always tricky to get everything to match up with the plot and make sure I don't contradict myself. I also want to take a stab at rewriting the first (few) chapter(s) to make them more in line with the later chapters as I think especially the first chapter might be giving people the wrong idea of what to expect right now – do you guys agree?

In the meantime, I'll probably put up a few Omake's / Crossover stories that I wrote some time ago so you guys won't get bored waiting for the next chapter. Stay tuned!


	21. Omakes, part 1

**A/N:** Hey all. I'm still getting the next act in order. While you wait, please feel free to gorge yourself upon these truly magnificent Naruto crossovers I wrote. I gotta hand it to myself – I'm pretty sure these are better than the actual story I ended up writing.

* * *

"Sakura, Sakura! Wake up!"

Sakura jolted wide awake as Naruto grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. "Wh-what? Are we under attack?"

"No," said Naruto, visibly shaking. "I think we've been transported to another dimension where magic is real. Look!" He unclasped his hand, which glowed with a pale blue light, and looked pleadingly at her. "What's it all mean? Am I gonna have to go to secret wizard school and learn to control my hidden powers?"

Sakura fell back onto her bedroll and groaned. "Naruto, you've _always_ been able to do that. You learned how to control chakra back at the academy, you just slept through all of the lessons, remember?"

"Oh, right," Naruto said sheepishly. "Guess I forgot."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in Hogwarts…_

"Hermione, I think something's gone terribly wrong," Ron cried. "I can't use magic anymore – I think I musta been transported to an alternate reality where I'm some kinda sports star instead, because all of a sudden I'm super agile and stuff!"

Hermione buried her face into her book, desperately trying to block out the wailing face from her field of vision. "Ron, when have you _ever_ solved your problems with magic? We usually drop our wands at the first sign of trouble while Harry runs around hitting things with a sword. And in all honestly, I've always suspected you of being a secret squib – I mean, you don't even _read_."

"Oh right," Ron said, dazedly. "I guess that explains why most of my memories involve me playing some kinda air football. So hey, I guess the Quidditch tryouts should be a breeze for me now, huh?"

* * *

 _Back in the Naruto world…_

"Sasuke! Sasuke, wake up! We've definitely gotten transported for real this time – I just got back from a magical adventure where me and my friends defeated a nightmarish villain using nothing but the power of friendship!"

Sasuke groaned into his pillow, not even bothering to look up. "Naruto, you've _always_ been able to do that. I can count at least six cases where you turned a psychotic homicidal monster to your side just by talking to them while punching them in the face until they agreed with you."

"Oh right," Naruto said, dazedly. "I guess that's true. But this time, Sakura is literally out there in the meadows riding around on some kind of sparkly pony while going ' _weeeeeeeee, I'm a unicorn princess!_ '"

"She probably just found the unicorn contract or something," Sasuke grunted. "I mean, she has _pink hair_ , what did you expect?"

* * *

"But that's impossible," cried the great and powerful Trixie, still fuming from her recent defeat. "What about the pony who played ten instruments at the same time? Nopony could do that!"

"Oh, that's just Pinky Pie," Twilight Sparkle said idly. "She's always been a ninja."

* * *

 _Meanwhile, in a slightly more rational Hogwarts…_

" _Sso the way I ssee it Professsor, prophessiess three and four ssay that I will win no matter what I do, but there iss conflict with prophessiess one and two which ssays that I will have a choice. Alsso, father-of-boy-child-friend-guy sseemss to think I am other long dead evil persson, but iss probably not important. Can't be ssure though, becausse I don't have paper and pencil and never write any of the million plotss that go on in thiss sschool down."_

Harry potter coolly gazed at the serpentine form of the defence professor, his emerald green eyes meeting the pale white eyes of the snake staring back at him. Older and wiser those eyes looked, ever since the enemy – whomever that foul fiend was – had conjured an influenza virus within the corridors of Hogwarts and killed every single person within the school who had not been raised by muggles and therefore missed vaccination. _Curse that unidentified evil person! I have no choice, I will have to grow_ _even_ _darker_ _and edgier to meet this new challenge! And then I'll bring everyone back with this edo-tensei spell the professor talked about._

There was a blur of motion as the white snake transformed into a pale man, with long black hair and yellow serpentine eyes. "You will figure it out in time, Harry potter, I'm sure of it." The defence professor snaked around the boy-who-lived and started to give him a friendly backrub. "So smart you are, so unlike the other boys your age..."

"I am lucky to have found a true friend like you, professor Orochimaru. The other teachers just don't _understand_ me the way you do. You, at least, I can trust to be _rational_. All of my other so-called friends just talk random nonsense, like, 'Oh that guy Orochimaru, he turns into a snake, don't trust him Harry'."

Harry's musings were interrupted by a stirring that occurred somewhere beneath his clothes. "Uh, professor Orochimaru? Could you please remove your snake from my pants? It's somewhat disturbing."

"Ssssorry..."

* * *

"Kakashi-sensei! Sensei, please wake up!"

Hatake Kakashi pretended to jolt awake when his student shook him, though of course he had been fully conscious and alert for intruders the entire time. "Whu- what? What is it, Sakura?"

"I think Naruto must be right after all – we've been transferred to another dimension! I just went outside to take a soothing walk at dusk, and suddenly there was this ghostly creature of the night, beautiful yet terrible in his aura of dark malevolence, gazing sullenly into the distance as he contemplated his dire affliction, the pale moonlight reflecting off his cool ivory skin and scattering radiant sparkles through the midnight gloom."

Kakashi regarded her calmly. "Do you mean Sasuke? He's always been a vampire."

"What?" Sakura blinked. "That can't be right, everybody knows that vampires have hypnotic crimson eyes and – okay, no wait, that part makes sense, but if he were a vampire he would be prone to violent emotional outbursts and an irrational hunger for blood, and his family would be involved in dark rituals to gain forbidden power while seeking ways to survive their own bodily deaths, and…" She slowly trailed off. "But then… if the Uchiha have red eyes because they are all vampires, how did _you_ –"

Kakashi pulled off his mask to reveal the spot where his teammate Obito had bitten him.

"Gaaaaaaah!"

* * *

"Bella?" The vampire gazed at her solemnly. "I think I just became _even more perfect_."

"That's great, Edward. Now shut up and do me already."

* * *

 _Shwooop…_

"Oh crap guys, I think we got transported again," Naruto said, casting his gaze around wildly. "This time it looks like we're stuck in some kinda futuristic dystopia. I mean, look at those high-tech cathedrals, the dilapidated buildings… what a terrible and depressing way to live!"

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, that's how the Uchiha universe has _always_ looked. We have electricity, trains, and you even have a television in your apartment for Kami's sake. We're probably just somewhere in the Land of Rain."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look. "The Uchiha universe?"

"Hey, it fits, doesn't it?" Sasuke shrugged. "I mean, the universe clearly revolves around me and my clan, so…"

Naruto ignored them both. "Look at this newspaper. It's worse than I thought: There's war and famine everywhere, and the most blatantly evil politicians I've ever heard of are in charge of the world. We must have gotten transported into one of Jiraiya's dystopian fantasy novels – there's no way anyone would tolerate such a horrific state of affairs in anything approximating the real world."

"Be quiet," Sakura hissed. "Do you want Ibiki to disappear you like he did Mizuki? The Hyūga's eyes see everywhere, watching your every word and movement and especially the stuff you write on Ninjanet."

Naruto was about to reply, but right in that moment a frightened girl crashed into him. "Ow. Hey!"

"Get out of the way!" the girl said as she stumbled back onto her feet. She was wearing a grey outfit which looked like it was made of spider webbing, which would make her the owner of this world's spider summoning contract Naruto supposed. "Get out of here! The Slaughterhouse Nine are on their way."

"The who?" asked Sakura. "Huh. I guess we're in an alternate world after all; no self-respecting ninja would name their organization something that crass and uncivilized."

"Yeah," said Sasuke, "I guess it all just sounded so familiar, it totally threw me for a loop."

"Wait, hold on." Naruto hastily dusted himself off as he got his thoughts in order. "These slaughterhouse types – what're they like, exactly?"

"You don't know the Slaughterhouse Nine? They're a group of nine monstrous psychopaths, who go around killing people and destabilizing the world." She squinted at the group suspiciously. "How can you not know that? Are you even real capes? I mean, you certainly dress campily enough, but…"

"Nine monstrous villains?" Naruto's eyes widened. "Akatsuki!" He slammed his fist into his palm and cursed. "There must be an alternate version of them in this world as well: We've got to protect these poor innocent civilians – they'll be totally helpless at the hands of those ruthless rogue ninjas."

"What? No, listen," said the girl. "They're not called Akatsuki, unless that's the Japanese name for them or something. I'm talking about the worst villains you can possibly imagine: They have this genius scientist who transformed himself into a living puppet–"

"Sasori of the Red Sand," Sakura breathed. "They say his unliving armies grow daily."

"–and then there's this medical genius who specializes in body horrors, experimenting on the innocent and creating ever new abominations to unleash upon the world–"

"Orochimaru of the Sannin," Naruto intoned grimly. "So he's a member, after all."

"–and I don't really know what secret powers their leader has, but he always guides the group from the shadows, manipulating everyone and twisting them to his own purposes, turning friends into foes and cutting entire families apart with a single word or sweep of his blade."

Sasuke froze on the spot, the sunlight sparkling forebodingly off his ivory skin. " _That_ man!"

"So it's true, then," said Sakura. "Naruto, you were right all along – I'm sorry for ever doubting you."

The foreign girl was about to protest, but right in that moment the entire city was swallowed by a tidal wave as a giant monstrous fish-creature roared its challenge from atop of a rising Tsunami.

"You must flee," the mysterious girl spluttered as she was dragged under by the waves. "It's Leviathan, the Endbringer – the doom of Tokyo. All hope is lost!"

"Kami damnit," Naruto growled as the surging waters swept him and his team away. "Kisame is so friggin' hax!"


	22. Sense and Simulation

**A/N:** Hmm, it seems that my filler is less popular than the actual story. In a way that's reassuring: I would've hated for crack that takes a day to write to be preferred over the stuff that requires actual work. And really, this wouldn't be a proper Naruto story without some pointless filler that people skip past to get to the good stuff. :p

* * *

"Naruto, hold the corridor," Sakura ordered. "Cover our backs while we advance. Sasuke-kun, try to scout ahead, see if you can locate the enemy with your Sharingan before they notice us."

While Sasuke grunted his assent, Naruto closed his eyes and focussed. In his mind's eye, the dimly-lit corridor stretched out before him, the dusty stones and cobwebs revealing no sign of recent passage. If the enemy had come through here, they had hidden their steps well.

"Movement!" Adrenaline flooded Naruto's system as the fourth member of their group cried out. "Above you, hidden in the shadows of the rafters, there's a shadow passing over you."

"I'll use my Shadow Clones," Naruto said hurriedly. "I can-"

"Too late!" The girl leaned forward eagerly, and the dice rolled over the table with a terrible, ominous clatter. "The Mujina flashes through a technique that sends tendrils of lightning at Sasuke's exposed back, flashes of light arcing through the narrow corridor with no hope of escape. Sasuke's body convulses and bends in impossible shapes, his clothes on fire as he dies a terrible, agonizing death."

Sakura sat back on her bench and groaned, sunlight framing her face in stark contrast to the shadows he imagined earlier. "Darn it, Naruto, I told you to watch the exit! What's the point of having those giant chakra reserves and forbidden techniques if you're just going to close your eyes at a critical moment?"

"I was just getting in character," Naruto protested. "The whole point of this game is to make everything feel as realistic as possible. I wasn't _actually_ supposed to be closing them."

"Your behaviour in the real world reflects your actions within the simulation," Naruko reminded them with an unnervingly gleeful grin. "There wouldn't be any point to this exercise if you didn't genuinely feel terrified to blink. Speaking of which, while you're busy cursing the heavens for the gross injustice of the world, the Mujina rips out your spines and you both die terrible, agonizing deaths."

Sasuke's brow twitched dangerously, perhaps finding that Naruto's illusion-clad clone took just a little too much pleasure in describing their untimely demise. "I should've been able to dodge that attack without any effort," he said. "There's no way I'd ever be that careless on a real mission."

"You don't get to defend against attacks you can't see," Naruko reminded him. "Anyway, upon death you find that the afterlife is real after all: The king of the Shinigami appears before you and kills you so hard that you come back to life, trapping your spirit inside your rotten corpse so that you experience a continuous, agonizing death for the rest of eternity. You are unable to scream."

"I should have been able to resist it, then," said Sasuke, ignoring her. "You didn't take into account the superior strength of my clan's chakra. I could have easily overcome the technique with that."

Naruto groaned. "Sasuke, for the last time, there's _no such thing_ as chakra-strength. We tested it with every available academy technique, and I just have more chakra than you do – that's it. If you have some kind of ability that we don't know about, feel free to show it to us so we can add it to the list."

"You can't expect Sasuke-kun to reveal all of his clan's abilities just because we're on his team," Sakura chided. "Rule forty-nine: The sum of a shinobi's secrets is the measure of his life – when he runs out, he is sure to perish." She turned to face Sasuke with a more gentle expression. "If you could just give us some indication of how your chakra is different from ours, I'm sure we can find a way to better account for it in the future."

"It isn't really any _different_ ," Sasuke mumbled. "Just, you know. Better."

Naruto was about to deliver a scathing retort to this when a sudden displacement of air from behind his bench alerted him to his teacher's arrival. "Sorry I'm late, kids. I was just…" Kakashi's eyes slowly drifted over to Naruko, whose blue eyes gave him a look of purest innocent in reply. "Do I even want to know?"

"We were just trying to run a combat simulation, to improve our chances of surviving any dangerous missions in the future," Naruto said, shuffling awkwardly on his seat. "It doesn't really work without a fourth person to run things." At that moment Naruko dispelled herself in a cowardly bid to force him to explain what had ultimately been her own idea, and _wow_ did regaining those memories result in a confusing moment for him there. He looked down for a second to reassure himself.

" _Anyway,"_ said Sakura, "we're very glad you're here, Kakashi-sensei. Do you have a new mission for us?"

"Not quite," said Kakashi. "I just wanted to let you know that I am impressed with your performance so far and have judged the three of you ready to advance in rank. As such I have signed you up for the coming chūnin exams, with one month left to prepare."

This announcement was met with a wall of silence as the team digested his words.

"The _chūnin exams_?" Sakura choked out. "But, those are incredibly dangerous! I mean, the tests change each time so you never know what to expect, but there's almost always a lethal element involved. People _die_ in those exams, and even when they don't they come back different. We've still only experienced one real combat mission – there's just no way we're ready for something like that!"

"Now, now," said Kakashi. "That one mission may not seem like much to you, but you have to remember that we're living in a time of peace – tenuous though it may be. Even having been on just one dangerous A-rank mission gives you far more combat experience than any of your classmates, I promise you that."

 _A mission we failed,_ Naruto thought glumly. If their track record compared favourably to that of his classmates, he had to wonder how many people had died on _their_ missions. Had Ino and Shikamaru perhaps unleashed a daemon that laid waste to a whole country, in addition to murdering their client?

(He supposed that he had at least not broken his promise by releasing the Kyūbi back then, for all that it might have been the wrong decision. It still felt unreal, how close he had come to losing everything.)

Sakura looked about to protest, but Sasuke spoke up first. "What our teacher is neglecting to point out is that this year's chūnin exams are held right here in Konoha instead of in allied lands, giving us a homeland advantage: Not only will we have a higher chance to pass, but the Anbu will be looking out for our safety and stand ready to intervene if necessary – meaning that participating in the exams now is a much safer way to gain combat experience than continuing the way we have until the next Land of Waves Mission comes along to kill us all." He looked up sharply. "Isn't that right, Kakashi?"

Their teacher nodded approvingly, but Sakura's expression only grew in frustrated incredulity. "I cannot believe this! That is the _exact_ same argument you used last time, to convince us to continue the Land of Waves mission despite the danger involved. That whole disaster would never have happened in the first place if you had just listened to me when I said it was a terrible idea."

"Hold on," said Naruto, who felt the need to interject before this got out of hand. "Sakura-chan, you can't say that his argument is wrong just because the outcome happened to be bad. Nobody could have predicted that one of the Seven Swordsmen was gonna come after us, and it's totally unreasonable to blame that on Sasuke and Kakashi-sensei." He paused, realizing what he had just been made to say out loud. Still, it _had_ been unreasonable of him to blame everything on Sasuke back then – he even had admitted as much to himself once he had calmed down a little. He hesitated, unsure of how to continue. "Sakura-chan, if you really think Sasuke is wrong, you can just explain _why_ and I promise we'll listen."

But Sakura offered only seething silence in response, and there was a moment of uncomfortable quiet wherein Kakashi gave the three of them a quizzical look. "Well," he said at last, "I'll give you kids some time to argue things out amongst yourselves. But whatever you decide, make sure it's unanimous: Only teams of three can sign up for the exams, and I'm guessing none of you would want to suddenly change teams. Anyway, good luck with it." There was a flicker in the air as he vanished without a sound.

Sasuke glared into the space where their teacher had been. "…useless bastard."

Naruto extended a worried look to Sakura, who still wore an expression of barely-restrained fury. He had seen her like this a few times before, but only ever when it was _he_ who said something stupid – _never_ when it came to Sasuke or Kakashi. That just did not happen.

He spoke to her softly, ever so carefully. "Sakura-chan…"

"Forget it," she said brusquely. "It doesn't matter. I'll go along with the stupid plan. I mean, I already know it's going to happen no matter what I say – You'd just come up with these really logical-sounding arguments, and I wouldn't be able to think of anything in reply because you're better at this than I am. I might as well skip the argument and cut straight to the conclusion." Naruto was still trying to figure out which one of them she was talking to when she brusquely gathered up her gear and stormed off in the direction of her home. He stared after her, wordlessly.

"That went well," Sasuke said dryly. "It's a good thing you were there to calm her down, or she might have gotten upset."

Naruto glared at him. "It's not like you were helping any." He paused. "Do you think she's right, though? I mean… participating in a giant death tournament does kinda sound like a really dumb idea."

Sasuke shrugged. "Kakashi is a useless bastard, but he's not an idiot, and he's made it pretty clear he doesn't want us to die. If it were really that dangerous, he wouldn't have signed us up in the first place. Common sense says that we should just listen to him instead of trying to be clever about it." He started collecting his gear, pausing as he picked up one of Sakura's kunai before tossing it in Naruto's direction. "Look, I'll participate either way for the sake of gaining experience, but if you or Sakura don't feel ready to join me just yet, that's fine – I'll figure something out. You don't need to worry about me." Having spoken those words, he calmly stood up and walked away, never so much as glancing backwards.

Naruto stared after him, only belatedly finding his voice. "I'm not – nobody's gonna worry about _you!_ Who cares what you think, anyway? You're a massive jerk." After a while he picked up his and Sakura's equipment, and walked back towards his apartment, feeling vaguely like he'd been had.

* * *

Sakura was sitting on her bed fuming silently, knees clutched tightly to her chest in her pink and far-too-girlish room, until at last her anger and dread subsided enough to allow for something approximating rational thought.

 _We're all going to die at this rate._

Her brain kept repeating the same familiar patterns, over and over: When she closed her eyes she was back in that civilian house – a quiet beacon in the middle of a storm of ice and fire, filled with the bodies of the dead and dying. Sometimes she was throwing shuriken at an endless row of bandits and drunks, each of them tumbling over with small and pitiful gasps of pain. Sometimes they wore the faces of Konoha villagers, or even her own classmates. It hurt to see them fall every time, but it never bothered her as much as she thought it _should_ , and that was what bothered her most of all.

 _We can't continue like this. We'll just end up taking more and more risks until everything goes wrong again, only there won't be any miracles to save us this time._

A small part of her mind, which she might have called the voice of common sense but which sounded suspiciously like her mother, insisted that she should just quit her career as a ninja and find a safer way to spend her time. Like selling flowers, or making dresses. But though she could not have explained why – whether it was the idea of giving up or the prospect of having to work for her own classmates – it became more and more of an impossibility to heed that voice each time it spoke. At last her inner self threw up its conceptual hands in frustration, and declared that if she was not going to listen to anything else it said, she could at the very least act like a sensible person by _talking_ about it to someone.

And so it was that she found herself on the doorstep to the apartment of the only person she knew who might be considered a reasonable adult – certainly not her parents, who could barely understand a word she said. Kakashi called for her to enter before she could even knock on the door, and she pushed it open effortlessly, its defences evidently having been disarmed.

"How did you manage to find me?" Her teacher was sitting on the window still of his first-floor apartment, his one visible eye fixated on the (probably perverted) book in his hand. Having the window open in this warm weather was sensible enough, but dangling one leg out over each side was decidedly peculiar, and gave her the distinct impression that he was ready to jump either in or out of the building at the first sign of threat. He did not sound remotely surprised to find her here, but then he never really displayed any strong emotion, so she supposed that did not really tell her anything.

"Your address was in your public file," Sakura said distractedly. She was struck by just how _small_ his apartment was: Most of the bare wooden floor was taken up by a single bed, as well as a nightstand on which stood a faded image of a young genin team and a man who could only be the Fourth Hokage himself, Namikaze Minato. On the floor there was a small potted plant labelled 'Mr. Ukki', which caused her to do a double-take. Aside from that there was a simple desk, a bookshelf filled with scrolls and (probably perverted) books, a few calligraphy scrolls along the walls and not much of anything else.

She cleared her throat. "Kakashi-sensei, I was hoping to you could help me with something. As you know, I don't think that entering the chūnin exams is a good idea, but I can't seem to convince the others of my point of view. Do you have any advice for how I could get my teammates to take my concerns more seriously?"

"Hm?" It was so fast that Sakura might have imagined it, but his eye seemed to dart to the bustling streets and rooftops of Konoha, instantly taking in his surroundings before flickering back to her and to the only door of the otherwise windowless room. "Oh, that's easy: You're too predictable."

She blinked. Sakura had specifically posed the question in such a way as to prevent her sensei from waving her off with a pat on the head – had definitely _not_ made a sad face and asked in a wistful tone why nobody ever took her seriously – but of all the replies she had imagined Kakashi would give, this was definitely not one of them. "Too predictable? How do you mean?"

Her teacher raised his index finger, and took on a lecturing tone. "You can think of it like a mission: For any conversation, and especially where ninjas are involved, the goal is to get the other person to like you and prevent them from thinking ill of you. Even during a casual chat, those concerns are always there in the back of your mind, taking up your thoughts and limiting what you might say. And just like in a mission, if a person is always going to help or hinder you regardless of what you do, then you might as well remove them from the equation so you can focus your attention on other things. If you allow yourself to be taken for granted, then you can easily end up fading into the background of other people's lives." He gave her an uncomfortably piercing look. "Or, to explain it in a different way: What do you think is the reason you treat Naruto the way you do?"

She stiffened. "What do you mean? I don't treat Naruto in any particular way, and in any case he doesn't fade into the background at all. He's loud and obnoxious, he interrupts people constantly and he never takes the time to think before he speaks."

The piercing look intensified. "And do you think he's doing any of that on purpose?"

"Well, no. But he's just so, so _immature!_ " She struggled for the right words to explain herself, even as her pent-up feelings came pouring out all at once. "He just says whatever is on his mind, and he doesn't take my feelings into account at all. It's like nobody ever taught him how to behave himself properly." Which, considering that he was raised by one of the legendary Sannin, she found especially shameful.

Kakashi scratched his masked chin. "So in other words, he doesn't have your strengths and in your eyes that makes him weak – beneath your notice. You know you could never get away with insulting Sasuke because of who he is and how he makes you feel, but Naruto has no other friends and so he holds no power over you, allowing you to safely take all of your frustrations out on him. Is that about right?"

She stared at her teacher in shock. She could not understand how her teacher could even _think_ that about her. "You're wrong," she said. "That's not what I think at all! I just feel like he could try a little harder to be polite to those around him, that's all. Anyway, you're changing the topic: This isn't about me and Naruto."

"Oh?" said Kakashi amusedly. "Who is this about then?"

"Obviously it's –" She flushed scarlet. "I mean, it's just obvious that Sasuke is the one who really gets to make all these decisions, as Naruto just agrees with whatever he says because he looks up to him so much, and Sasuke doesn't take me seriously at all…" She trailed off as a horrifying thought occurred to her. "Wait, are you telling me that what you said before is how Sasuke really thinks about _me_?"

Kakashi shrugged. "Well… maybe not so much anymore, at least not where you or Naruto are concerned. But in general terms, yes: I promise you that that is _precisely_ how he thinks."

She stared at him dumbly, unsure what to say to that. A part of her wanted to ask how Kakashi could possibly know that, but she suspected she already knew what he would say: _Because I was just like him once, ever so long ago…_

"Then, what should I do?" she asked instead. She pulled a stool from underneath his desk and sat down heavily. "Kakashi-sensei… what am I supposed to do with my life?"

At last he turned around to face her, pulling his leg away from the window still and sitting down on the bed opposite her. He smiled, and though his mask hid his face she could see the crinkle in his eye. "What an interesting question," he said. "I'm very flattered you came all the way over here just to ask me that."

* * *

Far away and to the east of Konoha there lay a vast island, surrounded by a ring of smaller islets like a mother goose and her goslings. Deep in the heart of the largest island one could find a deep valley, surrounded by mountains and forests and covered in a perpetual mist, and in the midst of that valley sat a Village known as Kirigakure – though these days it was more commonly referred to as the _Bloody Mist_.

In truth that place more closely resembled a fortress than a village: Tall, unyielding ramparts exposed an invading force to attack from every angle, and if an attacker did manage to scale those walls then the stone fortifications within would prove just as unforgiving. Attempting an invasion of such a place would be madness – yet for all that it was mad, the fortress was still being invaded.

" _They are in the courtyard! I repeat: The invaders have entered the courtyard!"_

In the centre of the Village stood Kirigakure's observatory, a round stone building perfectly placed to oversee the entire city. Within this building there was a circular chamber, wherein sat a middle-aged man. A veteran from the Third Great Ninja World War, Ao wore the standard Hunter-ninja garb, though upon being assigned his new position he had done away with the white mask and armour. 'Assigned' was definitely the word he remembered being used, and certainly not 'promoted'. Still, after the debacle with Gato and his failure to capture Zabuza, Ao was grateful to be given another chance to prove his worth. It meant that his loyalty at least was not in question, though he supposed the fact that he was still breathing was proof enough of that.

The previous captain of the sensor division had not been so fortunate, if rumours were to be believed.

A single drop of sweat trickled down Ao's brow and struck the stone tiles upon which he kneeled, an echoing sound that went unanswered by the five other sensors as they focussed their efforts on the massive orb of water that hovered in the centre of the room. A steady flow of chakra flowed from their outstretched palms into the sphere, slowly numbing Ao's hands and body, but he barely it noticed anymore.

He focussed his thoughts on the sphere, and the continuously updated map of the Village it provided: The information they gathered with their individual sensing techniques was gathered and combined into the Orb, on which the Village's ninja were represented by expanding and contracting ripples. The greater the ninja's chakra reserves, the larger the ripples they cast, which seemed to Ao almost poetic. Right then, a dozen large ripples that did not belong to anyone he knew disappeared from the orb, and reappeared elsewhere a moment later.

" _They are inside the armoury! I repeat: The enemy is inside the armoury!"_

For the fact of the matter was that great stone walls might seem impressive to civilians, and they could certainly withstand assault from any number of samurai or brigands, but a small force of skilled ninja could easily scale those walls under cover of darkness. Scale them, or as seemed to be the case here, teleport right past.

 _How? How are they doing this?_ Ao's eyes were shut tight as he desperately tried to keep track of the rapidly shifting enemy forces with his sensing technique. His implanted Byakugan could see in every direction, make out small details at great distances and even pierce through walls, yet when he directed his gaze at the enemy he saw only darkness. A pall of night surrounded the infiltrators, shrouding them like a cloak of shadows as they struck one location after another with unstoppable force. As far as he could tell, not one of the attackers had fallen so far, while the same could not be said of their own troops. The enemy left a trail of explosive tags as they went, so that when they teleported away only death and devastation was left behind. Worse still, they seemed to have allies within the Village itself – bloodline bearers and sympathizers that attacked their own allies at the worst possible time and made any orderly defence impossible. Ao silently resolved to beg the Mizukage's permission to hunt the traitorous curs down himself once they had repelled the enemy, be it with or without his white mask.

The one upside that Ao had figured out, the one reason they were able to muster any defence at all, was the fact that the enemy was seemingly unable to teleport into a place they had not already visited. Ao had only once seen such a powerful teleportation technique before, and that had been far away in a distant land, and in a different era. _The Fourth Hokage Namikaze Minato's Flying Thunder God technique… Could it be? Are we fighting Konoha once more?_ The descriptions given in the scattered reports they had received did not match the ninjas of Konoha, but that could just be deception at work. They were ninjas, after all, and in a world of ninjas you could never trust anyone. Ao had learned that lesson from his own graduation ceremony, during the practice that had earned the Village the moniker of _Bloody Mist_ : His best friend had tried to kill him then, but fortunately for Ao, his best friend had failed.

Another set of ripples disappeared from the Orb, and Ao realized that the armoury had been lost. His stolen Byakugan only showed colourless outlines, but even so it was all too easy to fill in the details of the massacre that had taken place there. He focussed his efforts on sending another telepathic message to the rest of the village. His native chakra sensing and transmitting abilities were not nearly as good as those of Konoha's Yamanaka clan, but it was all they had and so it would simply have to do.

" _The armoury has fallen. I repeat: The armoury has fallen."_

Ao's brow narrowed in confusion. Though the invaders had clearly disappeared from the armoury, he could not seem to determine their new location. His Byakugan allowed for incredible range and precision, but he could not observe the entire Village at once: He had to focus on one segment of the Village at a time, scanning the locations in order of strategic importance. At last his eyes opened wide as he realized just where the invaders were attacking next. The door to the observatory blasted open, pure darkness pooling into the room and shrouding the enemy as they fell upon the sensing team like living shadows.

"They're here! The enemy is–" An invisible blade cleaved into Ao before he could react, and even as the words died on his lips he realized he had forgotten to relay the message telepathically. There would be no help coming for his team.

The Village Hidden in the Mist was under attack.


	23. Trust and Tyrants

Inside the fortress known as the Village Hidden in the Mist there was an inner sanctum, and within that sanctum stood a throne of cold stone. On that seat of power sat a man called Yagura, whose appearance might be confused for that of a young boy. In truth he was the Eternal Mizukage, whose body had not aged since he had become host to the fearsome three-tailed leviathan of the sea. He had discarded his conical Mizukage headdress onto the ground before him, revealing a mop of uneven hazel-brown hair and a scar running down his left eye. In place of his official white robes of office he wore his own grey shirt over a suit of mesh-armour, as well as a moss-green wrap around his shoulders with a matching apron. Across his lap lay a dark wooden staff with vicious hooks on either end, a green flower dangling from the top to add just a touch of elegance to the weapon. If his appearance did not match what was expected of a Mizukage, then this was only a testament to his vast power: _"I do not need to play by your rules, not while I have one of the nine great daemons under my control,"_ that is what those clothes said.

To Yagura's right stood his close advisor and second in command, Terumī Mei. Her twin bloodline abilities made her one of the most powerful ninja in the Mist, as well as making her essential in keeping what remained of the Land of Water's 'noble' bloodline clans under control. A tall, slender woman in her thirties, she was clearly not above using her beauty as a weapon: Her roughly styled long auburn hair might be deemed exotic, and her green eyes certainly had a seductive quality to them, but though her long blue dress was revealing it only revealed a suit of armour underneath. If no obvious weapons were visible, then that was only because her body itself was an instrument of death.

The third person in the room was a boy by the name of Chōjūrō, whose awkward posture and ill-fitting grey outfit made him look almost younger than the Mizukage himself, despite being in his late teens. The leather holster on his back normally carried the great sword Hiramekarei, which resembled a flounder fish in shape and which he now clutched in his trembling fists by its twin handles. If the sword had not been proof enough, the fact that he had his teeth filed into points clearly identified him as one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, who were intended to serve as Yagura's bodyguard.

The three ninja waited there in silence, kept company in their vigil by the muted sounds of violence coming through the thick iron door. There were muffled screams and panicked shouts, explosions which caused the very stone they stood on to rumble, and scattered reports of teleporting men in black cloaks that raised more questions than they answered. Ao had not given them telepathic updates for a while now, which meant that he had most likely been slain by the attackers – unless of course he was one of the traitors after all. Yagura silently resolved to either avenge him or execute him, depending.

"We should assist our shinobi in battle," Mei said once more. "If we join up with the Anbu and add our combined strength to the defensive forces, we can-"

"No, Mei." Yagura sighed wearily. For being his closest advisor she could be so _dense_ , sometimes. "We've been over this. A mere handful of invaders cannot hope to defeat our entire army, which means they are here to assassinate me. To fight them in person is to entirely miss the point of having a fortress and an army in the first place." He paused in his explanation as another explosion rocked the stone chamber, causing motes of dust to pour down from the ceiling. The enemy seemed to be coming closer now. "No, we'll let them wear themselves out fighting their way through our standing forces. Should they manage to break into this chamber, only then shall we fight the enemy ourselves."

Of course, this strategy would be even more effective if Yagura had more than two bodyguards to protect him, but the fact of the matter was that he simply could not trust anyone else not to betray him at a critical moment. He knew what sort of things people whispered about him behind his back, but it could hardly be called paranoia at this point, not when all his fears were validated by past experiences. What was even the point of having the world's seven greatest swordsmen as your bodyguard, when all they ever did was try to assassinate the very person they were supposed to protect?

He was shaken from his reverie by the clamour of steel striking steel, followed by a screeching sound that caused Mei to clasp her hands over her ears while Chōjūrō merely quavered on his trembling legs. Yagura's eyes narrowed as he regarded the gate: Something was cutting straight through the thick metal door from the other side. There was another scream of tortured metal, and this time a giant cleaver could be seen poking through the steel gate. A third and fourth blow followed, and finally a great chunk of metal was carved out and hurled onto the floor. A gust of cold wind followed in its wake, an icy chill that cut straight to the bone and covered the entire stone chamber in a pale white sheen.

Mei looked around the room in alarm, her composure visibly shaken as white flakes began drifting down from the ceiling above them. "Is that… snow? How is that even possible?"

"It's the ice-release bloodline ability," Yagura replied. "A pesky remnant of the Yuki clan which I had thought exterminated long ago." He brushed off some of the frost that had begun to cling to his green clothing with an irritated gesture, though his eyes never left the gate before him. "Unfortunately, it seems that I was entirely too optimistic in that regard."

"If it's any consolation, they almost were, and you would have succeeded entirely if not for me." Through the hole in the door stepped a tall, muscular man with short black hair. His thin eyebrows came together in a perpetual scowl, his brown eyes held a dangerous glint, and the bandages covering his skin suggested a lifetime of poorly-healed injuries. His voice was a low growl. "It's been a long time, Mizukage-sama. Too long, if you ask me."

Yagura rose up in his seat, his casual demeanour instantly forgotten. "Momochi Zabuza, I should have realized you were behind this insurgency. You and your little band of traitors… I seem to recall that I sent you fleeing with your tail tucked between your legs the last time you tried to usurp my rule. What makes you think this time will be any different?"

An androgynous teen stepped through the wounded gate, taking position next to Zabuza. Yagura decided to think of him as male, though it was hard to tell through the hunter-ninja garb and mask he wore. When the boy spoke it was with a gentle tone that defied what you would expect of a shinobi: "The reason this time is different is because master Zabuza does not fight alone. My name is Haku, and I am the needle that shall weave his dream into the fabric of reality." A cold wind wafted off of him as he spoke, and Yagura resolved then and there not to underestimate this child.

Zabuza inclined his head towards the androgynous child. "As you can see, I found some useful things along the road since last we met, and I've grown stronger because of it… unlike you, it seems." He turned his gaze to the teenager standing to the left of the Mizukage. "The Seven Swordsmen of the Mist were once the most feared formation in the entire world – a group of elite ninjas that could take on any opponent and expect to win. But now, all that remains is this one boy who is too scared to even hold his own sword? What a pathetic sight. It's almost enough to make me feel sorry for leaving you."

"I'm _not_ scared," Chōjūrō loudly protested. "I am trembling with anticipation! As the last remaining member of the Seven Swordsmen, it falls to me to protect the Mizukage and defeat you, Zabuza-san!"

Yagura silenced the boy with an annoyed glance, then turned his attention back to Zabuza. "Did you have something worthwhile to discuss, or are you merely here to waste my time?"

"I just wanted to ask you something." Momochi Zabuza's mouth seemed to twitch beneath the bandages that covered his face. "During your reign, the Village came to be known across the world as the Bloody Mist for its practice of forcing academy students to kill their own comrades, in order to become what you call _true ninja_. Including myself and Hoshigaki Kisame, there are now more former members of the Seven Swordsmen opposing you than defending you as a result. There's also the six-tails daemon host Utakata, who left the Village and killed the hunter-ninja that you sent after him, not to mention that boy Suigetsu who defected a while earlier, and of course my Haku…" Zabuza was definitely smirking, now. "Do you ever wonder, Mizukage-sama, if perhaps your rule has been less than entirely free of flaws?"

"And I suppose you imagine you could do better?" Yagura crossed his arms and glared at the two traitors. "Are you too young to remember what it was like before I created peace and order in this land? Do you think you were better off when any clan head could declare themselves Kage and wage their own wars? Back when bloodthirsty savages such as the 'noble' Kaguya clan raped and murdered entire villages as they pleased, with no organised military force to stop their accursed bloodline abilities?"

Another set of footsteps could be heard as a third shape appeared in the opening of the gate, this one even more formidable than Zabuza: "I mostly remember that you instructed me to kill my own comrades rather than allow them to be captured, and I remember the way you commended me for killing my superior Suikazan Fuguki because he was selling information to the enemy. That's another Swordsman who betrayed you, incidentally." The figure stepped into the light, revealing a man with blue hair styled upright and blue-grey skin, with gill-like markings under his eyes lending him the distinct appearance of a shark. He wore a black cloak with the red cloud emblem of the mysterious mercenary organization known as _Akatsuki_ , but his pointed teeth and the gigantic scaled sword slung over his shoulder all identified him as a former member of the Seven. There was a hungry undertone to his amused voice; a tremor that enforced the danger which radiated from every aspect of his being. "Ever since the first time I was forced to kill a comrade, I have known that this world is full of lies and deceit. Even so, now that I've returned here, I find myself wanting to kill someone from my own Village, one last time."

"Hoshigaki Kisame. It seems my enemies have found each other," Yagura said icily, gripping his staff until his knuckles went white. No, he had not been paranoid after all. "I will not let myself be lectured by common outlaws! You traitors are all the same: You dream of acquiring ever greater power, but you have no conception whatsoever of what to do with it. Like animals, it is simply your instinct to challenge whoever is in charge, and so it falls to me to maintain order by cutting you down." He stood up from his throne and advanced towards the enemy, his two bodyguards falling in lockstep beside him. "If either of you were to take over, the Village would descend into chaos and infighting on the instant. Only I am strong enough to rule!"

And with those words, the battle began.

* * *

Zabuza gave the signal, and in response Haku turned and raised a vast barrier of ice over the damaged gate, while at the same time Zabuza created three water clones and sent them out to fight Yagura in close combat. On the other side of the room Terumī Mei leaped into the air and unleashed her Lava technique, a deadly torrent of molten rock spewing from her mouth at Zabuza and his two allies in a wide area. Just as agreed beforehand Kisame called forth a tidal wave to counter the fearsome attack, while Haku formed a dome of ice around the three of them for additional protection. The double-layered defence held against the devastating attack, but only just, and the air turned to steam even as a cascade of searing rocks collapsed all around them. Zabuza wasted no time in repurposing the vapour into his Hidden Mist technique, seeking to hide his original body from view by controlling the density of the fog.

Out of the mist the boy Chōjūrō came charging recklessly, his great sword in his hands and a battle cry on his lips as he headed straight for Zabuza. He was stopped short as Kisame interposed himself between them, blocking the unwieldy flounder-sword with his own Samehada in a clash of screeching metal. As he shoved the boy backwards with his massive strength, the blue-skinned man grinned voraciously. "Chōjūrō, was it? I like to test myself against my fellow Swordsmen, to see if they are worthy of being a member of the Seven. So, please show me what you can do!"

Terumī Mei rushed to intervene with panick on her face, but she was called back by Yagura. "Don't be a fool, Mei! Hoshigaki Kisame is their strongest warrior, while Chōjūrō is our weakest. Having them face off is to our advantage." He turned his attention to the teenager. "Chōjūrō, your mission is to delay the enemy for as long as possible, even at the cost of your life. Can you do this for me?"

The boy gripped his sword until his knuckles whitened, his arms trembling with exertion as Kisame's blade pushed down on his with inexorable force. "Yes sir! I will try not to disappoint!"

At that moment Zabuza's clones burst through the fog to attack Yagura, giant swords swinging at him from three different directions, but the Mizukage slipped underneath and between the massive cleavers as though they stood still. In the same movement he brought his hooked staff up and into the first clone's groin, causing Zabuza's clone to break down into its liquid base. Yagura's staff continued its arc unabated as the water from the dispelled clone trailed behind it like an afterimage, and when the staff stopped short the water blasted his next target in the chest and destroyed it. The third clone moved to attack him from behind, but the Mizukage simply hooked the bottom part of his staff behind the clone's ankle, tripping him up. In one smooth motion he brought the larger hook at the top down onto his opponent's skull and exploded the clone into another shower of water.

Zabuza twitched as the memories of being dismantled so easily caught up with him, the blow between his legs being especially ignominious, but he stuck with his strategy and summoned a new group of clones to fight his foe. He had known Yagura would not be easy to defeat, but even so it was difficult not to underestimate the tiny Mizukage with his high-pitched voice and his pointy stick. He glanced over his shoulder to where Haku faced off against Mei. It seemed both of them were hesitant to fight each other, which made for a nice change from his minion being the only soft-hearted one: Apparently the Tyrant of the Bloody Mist also had to deal with weak-hearted foolishness in his ranks. Who knew?

Mei was desperately trying to move past Haku, but was blocked at every turn as the boy kept teleporting in front of her using his ice-mirror technique. "Get out of my way," she cried. "I don't want to hurt you!"

"Please do not resent me," Haku said softly. "I will defeat anyone who stands against my master, no matter who it is or which methods I must use." With those words he stepped through one of his ice mirrors and reappeared behind her, throwing a volley of needles which she only narrowly avoided, before vanishing into his mirror once more. Mei was forced to use her lava-release to destroy the mirrors one by one, taking them down with carefully aimed globs of molten rock. The mist was making Haku's misdirection tactics even more effective than usual, Zabuza was pleased to note, and as long as those two kept each other busy it might make up for Kisame wasting his time duelling with that boy Chōjūrō.

No sooner did he think that or a massive burst of chakra appeared from out of the mist to strike Kisame, the radiant energy clearly visible even through the fog. The shark-man's feet skidded over the stone floor as he was shoved backwards, but his sword had parried the blow and soon the attack was absorbed into the weapon. Kisame laughed wildly, mocking his opponent. In response the teenager produced a massive chakra-hammer from his sword, striking the floor in front of Kisame and shattering the ground with a deafening explosion of sound and shrapnel. The shark-man disappeared in a storm of chakra, dust and broken rock.

Zabuza's attention was forced back to his own fight as a new wave of memories struck him. Yagura was still twirling and dancing around like a marionette, taking out a water-clone with each movement of his staff, long whips of water streaming from his weapon and lashing at anything within reach. Realizing that his chakra would run out before his opponent's at this rate, the original Zabuza formed the necessary seals to send a stream of pressurised water spiralling towards the Mizukage. In response, Yagura extended one arm and formed a reflective disc of water in front of him, which he tilted with the tip of his staff. When the attack struck the disk it continued at an angle, and collided with Haku in mid-air. Zabuza cursed silently as his minion was propelled across the room by his own technique.

At that moment Kisame burst out of the ground behind Yagura and aimed a savage blow at the back of his head with his great sword, but the Mizukage dodged the attack without so much as looking backwards. Not one to be discouraged, Kisame proceeded to expel a ludicrous amount of water from his mouth, creating a veritable tidal wave that threatened to sweep everyone in the sanctum away with it. All the ninja in the room leaped upwards and landed on the surface of the water that now filled the stone chamber. The waves that had been created were already starting to abate.

"Kisame, you fool," Yagura said. "We are all water ninja here; reshaping the battlefield gives you no advantage."

The shark-man grinned ferociously. "Is that so? Well, there's water ninja and then there's water ninja, as you're about to find out!" He bit his thumb and, placing his palms on the water's surface, summoned a dozen ravenous white sharks within the newly created lake. The sharks rushed forward with murderous intent, and Yagura and Mei both hastily executed a series of backward jumps to stay out of their reach. At the same time, the sound of rapid splashes behind Zabuza alerted him to the fact that Chōjūrō was about to attack his real body. He only narrowly dodged the deadly lance of chakra that shot from the flounder-sword, blinded as he was by his own mist. Before either of them could do anything else, a clone of Kisame appeared underneath Chōjūrō, and the boy gave a shriek as the water vanished beneath his feet and he was pulled under. The sharks were upon him in an instant and soon the water was stained red with blood.

" _Chōjūrō!_ " Terumī Mei's voice was joined by the roar of a gigantic water dragon, which appeared from out of nowhere and dove into the water where the boy had fallen, crushing Kisame's clone instantly. When the serpent emerged again it had Chōjūrō's body clutched in its watery jaw, which it gently deposited onto the throne which still peeked out over the rising water's surface. The water dragon dissipated as Mei switched to her second bloodline ability and blew a vast cloud of acidic vapour from her mouth in Zabuza's direction. Fortunately Haku had come up with a counter for that as well, and Zabuza immediately used the body-flicker technique to move close to the Mizukage while Kisame simply dove underwater. He smirked at Mei's frustrated expression.

 _You can't prevent the mist from injuring your precious Mizukage as well this way… now you have no choice but to cancel your technique. As long as I have my Haku, all of your petty tricks are worthless!_

Unfortunately Yagura was now able to attack his original body, and Zabuza found himself having to defend against a constant flurry of light but extremely rapid blows. With each movement of Yagura's staff coils of water sprung up from the surface and struck at Zabuza from every direction. Having access to all his chakra made his movements much more fluid, but even so he suffered several blows and nicks from the Mizukage's hooked staff. At the other side of the room Kisame suddenly leaped out of the water, his blue-grey skin covered in terrible burn wounds. Lifeless sharks floated upwards all across the lake, and the burning sensation from where the water lapped onto Zabuza's sandaled feet told him all he needed to know: _She made the water itself acidic! So much for Kisame's battlefield advantage…_

But Kisame was nothing if not persistent. He leaped at and pressured Mei with his Samehada, forcing her to rely on elemental techniques to stave him off, but that was not a battle she could hope to win: Every time he defended himself against an elemental technique his sword drained that much more of her chakra. _You cannot outlast Kisame. He does not relent, he does not stop. He hounds you and eats away at your chakra until you can no longer run, and then he cuts apart your body for the fun of it._ The look in Yagura's eyes showed that he knew it as well, and Zabuza permitted himself a wry smile. _You're losing, Yagura… even if you defeat me you're still going to die here. Victory is so close now I can taste it!_

Right then Haku appeared behind Yagura, bloodied but not defeated, and with a series of hand seals he turned the surface of the water into ice. There was a brief, sweet moment of panic in Yagura's eyes as he stumbled, and then ice spikes erupted from the frozen water and stabbed at him from a dozen directions. The tiny Mizukage somehow managed to twist in mid-air to avoid the worst of it, but it was too little and far too late: Bringing his executioner's blade down with both hands, Zabuza shattered his enemy's staff and drove the Mizukage's small body straight through the thin layer of ice and down into the water below. Zabuza reached out with his left hand, and the gushing water rushed in to capture the wounded and bleeding Kage in an impenetrable prison.

"Well done, Haku. Well done." Zabuza briefly grinned at his exhausted-looking minion, before turning his attention back to his captive. The boy-Mizukage was attempting to break the bubble of pressurized water from the inside, a look of consternation on his face as each of his techniques failed him in turn. Zabuza glanced towards the only other fight that was still going on, the intense focus required to maintain the orb of water little more than a distraction to him. It seemed Kisame had switched to launching water techniques at Chōjūrō's still form, forcing Mei to block his attacks with her own water techniques rather than dodge. Soon she would be out of chakra and then she would fall as well. Satisfied that the battle was as good as won, Zabuza permitted himself to gloat at his enemy.

"Look how far you've fallen, Yagura. Your allies are dead or dying at the hands of your own people, and you're slowly drowning inside your own Village's technique – all because you insisted on treating your followers as enemies instead of friends." Zabuza had intended to laugh at and mock his foe, but instead his mood soured as painful memories resurfaced. "You're going to pay for every time you humiliated me, for hunting me like an animal and for making me live like a beggar… and for forcing me to kill my only childhood friend." He stared down at his former master, feeling a strange sense of emptiness where he thought there should be joy. At last he managed a cold smile. "You're going to die here, Yagura. Once you're dead I'll take your place as Mizukage, and then I'll erase you from history until it's like you never even existed. You'll be nothing, and I'll be everything you never were… It'll be the ultimate revenge."

For the briefest moment Zabuza thought he could make out a flash of chakra, and then the orb of water exploded. A vast cloud of water droplets filled the air, adding to the lingering mist and obscuring all vision. It was all Zabuza could do to bring up his sword in defence before something heavy struck it and sent him hurtling backwards. He landed some distance away, the water sloshing and surging beneath his feet. As he looked around he saw that Mei had formed a massive whirlpool that swallowed Kisame whole, but that was not what had broken the water prison: There was a silhouette standing in the mist where Yagura had been, though it did not look quite human anymore. The monstrous creature bore a grey tail, merciless claws, and was coated in a layer of mucus-like chakra. An aura of pure malice wafted from the figure, cutting straight to the bone like a bitter wind, and for the first time that day Zabuza felt the sharp tinge of fear.

 _So it's true after all… and here I was hoping that all the talk of him being a daemon host was just another legend._

The creature charged at him like a whirling ball of claws and spines, and it was all Zabuza could do to form water clones to distract the creature. The monstrous Mizukage took them apart in a flurry of claw swipes, destroying them faster than he could create them. Haku coated the monster in a thick barrier of ice, but Yagura shattered it with a contemptuous swipe of his shrimp-like tail. Haku formed ice mirrors to teleport around him and attack from all sides, but Yagura tore them apart with a shockwave of raw chakra that sent the boy bouncing over the water like a skipping stone.

There was a voice then, like the roar of an ocean in a storm, and it took a moment for Zabuza to realize it was Yagura speaking to him. _**"A water prison and water clones... I see, so you really were intent on wasting my time from the start. Congratulations, you have succeeded in robbing me of one hour of my life with your nonsense. That is as close as anyone has ever come to killing me. Now that you have accomplished your objective, I am going to insist that you die and leave me in peace."**_

Just as Yagura was about to charge Zabuza once more, the burned and blistered figure of Kisame leaped out of the water and drained the creature's chakra cloak with a single slash of his infamous sword. For the first time since his transformation the monstrous Mizukage recoiled, his features looking more human than before. Kisame followed up by forming a number of hand seals, and a dozen luminous blue sharks leaped out of the water intending to devour Yagura, but before they could reach him they were torn apart by another shockwave; a tempest of water and pure force pushing out in all directions. Zabuza was forced to raise his sword to defend himself, and even then he felt himself being pushed back by the waves that were created, so great was the pressure.

When the waves subsided Yagura was standing there in the eye of the storm, having grown even more monstrous. His skin was now entirely covered by grey scales and mucous slime, spikes jutting out of his body at random intervals, and his torso seemed to be protected by the makings of a turtle's shell. The number of scaled, shrimp-like tails now equalled two.

Without warning, a massive blast of water burst out of the creature's mouth to strike at Kisame. The shark-man blocked the attack with his sword, but no sooner had he absorbed the attack or Yagura appeared before him and kicked him across the room, sword and all. Kisame hit the stone wall with a sickening crunch, both his sword and body remaining stuck to the wall: Where Yagura had kicked the sword, coral had appeared, and the stone-like growths were spreading to cover his entire body faster than the shark-man could snap them off. Soon, Kisame disappeared under a mountain of coral, and with him Zabuza's only remaining chance of victory dissipated.

Yagura turned to regard him, and Zabuza found himself taking an involuntary step backwards. The daemon-child's right eye had closed shut, and his left eye was now a bestial yellow with a crimson pupil. When it spoke the scaled and twisted mouth moved mechanically, as if it took conscious effort to manipulate each individual muscle. _**"Now it… just you. Please die… quickly…"**_

Zabuza grinned weakly as he pulled down the bandages that covered his face, and bit his right thumb until a drop of blood appeared. "It seems you leave me no choice… I was hoping to take you out myself, but it looks like I need to call in reinforcements after all." He formed the hand seals of the new technique he had been taught: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram, in that order.

He slammed his hands down onto the surface of the water, and darkness flooded the room.

* * *

Terumī Mei had just barely managed to stave of Kisame Hoshigaki's savage onslaught, trapping him inside of an acidic whirlpool, when suddenly she sensed a surge of malevolent chakra. She realized in shock that Yagura had been forced to unleash the power of the Three-tailed Beast, and Kisame had used that distraction to escape. Mei collapsed in exhaustion almost immediately after, kneeling on the water's surface and breathing heavily. Her mastery of elemental techniques was perfect, as evidenced by her use of the lava- and boil-release bloodline abilities, yet even so the constant use of high-level techniques had all but depleted her chakra reserves. Right when it looked like the Mizukage was about to defeat the intruders single-handedly, Zabuza had placed his hands on the water's surface and a sphere of pure darkness had appeared around him. Not smoke, not a pitch-black material, just… darkness.

She spared a glance towards the stone throne where Chōjūrō still lay. She did not know whether or not he was even alive, but she could not afford to check, not when the Mizukage was fighting in his two-tailed state. In truth, Mei did not know what would happen if the Mizukage reached his three-tailed form, but it could not possibly be good. After a moment Mei stood up on trembling legs, readying herself to intervene if necessary, to do what she could with what little chakra she had remaining. She brushed her impractically long red hair out of her face with a clammy hand, sweat and water having drenched her from top to toe, and swore to herself – not for the first time – to cut it off if she survived this battle.

It was then that the darkness receded, the absence of light vanishing into nothingness as if it had never been there at all. What remained was a young man, his handsome face accented with pronounced tear-troughs and framed by bangs of jet-black hair. His black-and-red Akatsuki cloak was opened to mid-chest, and he had his left arm casually draped over the button. He must have come straight from the battle against the rest of the Mist's forces, yet he did not look at all as if he had been fighting, and she feared for the state of their army if he could afford to look this calm. As for his eyes… Mei immediately lowered her gaze, her breath caught in her throat when she realized just who it was whose form she had been admiring: The man who had, at age sixteen, singlehandedly slaughtered his entire clan.

 _Uchiha… Itachi!_

The young man idly brushed his raven hair out of his face he took in his surroundings with crimson eyes, cursed eyes that she dare not look upon for fear of falling under his spell. He blinked slowly, as if adjusting to the light, before settling his gaze on the person who had summoned him. "We are running out of time, Zabuza-san. Your methods are too inefficient. Go help Kisame out of that coral; I will take care of matters here." The former Swordsman obeyed reluctantly, but did not question his new orders.

Without warning, the monstrous form of the Mizukage spat a volley of water projectiles at his new opponent. When they reached him the Uchiha seemed to flicker out of existence, the attacks bypassing him completely, only for him to reappear behind Yagura. The darkness manifested itself once more, raw blackness enveloping both warriors until an unseen explosion sent the daemon host hurtling out of the shadows and across the room. A dozen blazing shuriken trailed him, and the projectiles struck the beast's mucous coat with a painful _hiss_. A low and wordless moan of fury escaped from the mouth of the beast – the monstrous creature Mei had to remind herself was the Mizukage – and then Yagura went charging headlong at his unseen opponent.

The darkness shattered into pieces when struck, shards of blackness taking the form of crows and flying off in every direction, leaving the daemon-host to shake its head in confusion. The crows cawed in their hundreds as they circled the beast, before launching themselves at him like black shuriken. Each crow exploded upon impact, and each thunderous blast sent a spray of ichor and torn scales flying in every direction while the creature howled in pain. A final explosion unlike any of the others blinded Mei with its intensity, and as the water around the daemon blasted outwards she realized with onrushing panic and dismay that the final transformation had occurred.

The Mizukage was entirely gone now, consumed whole by the daemon within. A monstrous turtle's shell covered thick red cords of muscle bulging underneath, the four heavyset limbs it crawled on were covered in grey scales and slime, and its twisted horns had grown to fully encapsulate the Mizukage's face. All three shrimp-like tails extended from its rear, swishing this way and that like a cornered animal. The daemon's one visible eye, yellow and red, stared at its enemy with a strange apprehension.

" _ **AT LAST I HAVE REGAINED MY FREEDOM: FOR THIS YOU HAVE MY GRATITUDE, HUMAN. NOW I, ISOBU, THE THREE-TAILED LEVIATHAN OF THE SEA, SHALL RECLAIM MY –"**_

The monster's voice halted, and for a moment it was as though time itself had frozen. Uchiha Itachi was standing right in front of the creature as if he had always been there and reality had only now caught up with the fact. In his hand a sword had manifested, jet black and covered with runes, and he thrust the arcane weapon into the beast's belly in an almost perfunctory fashion. The instant it touched the creature's chakra, the seals inscribed upon the blade flared into life with power and the daemon's grotesque form seemed to be _drawn_ into it. In less than a second the three-tails was gone, swallowed whole by the ornate weapon, and then the blade too vanished into nothingness once more.

The Mizukage had vanished, sealed away along with the daemon, and only his conical headgear remained where he had left it behind, drifting on the water at the base of his throne. She stared at the scene numbly; unable to wrap her mind around what had just happened, left with no idea as to what she was supposed to think or feel or what would happen next.

Uchiha Itachi turned to his bandaged companion, who had just freed Kisame. "Come, Zabuza-san," he said, sounding as calm as he had at the start. "It is time for you to claim your prize, as promised."

Zabuza hesitated for a fraction of a second, but then his eyes showed an anticipatory glint and walked over to where the ceremonial headdress drifted with long and powerful strides. "I could have waited an eternity for this…" He picked up the Mizukage's conical hat and raised it above him with both hands, placing it on his own head as though crowning himself. "Now, at long last, the future of this country shall belong to me!"

"Congratulations," Itachi said dispassionately. "You have finally achieved your ambition, overthrowing the tyrant who has plagued the Hidden Mist for so long." He calmly regarded Momochi Zabuza. "The late Mizukage was right about one thing, however: You are not fit to rule this country."

Zabuza instantly twirled around and intercepted Kisame's incoming blade with his own, as if he had been waiting for it to happen. As their gigantic swords clashed in a shower of sparks the shark-faced man grinned with the same battle-hungry expression he had shown before. "I did say I wanted to test myself against the Seven Swordsmen, didn't I? You are the one they call the Daemon of the Mist, considered skilled even amongst the strongest generation of the Seven. With a reputation like that, I hope you won't disappoint me, Zabuza-san!"

The boy Haku immediately moved to intervene, but a sidelong glance from Uchiha Itachi rooted him in place. The child stood frozen on the water's surface, his whole body trembling soundlessly, and Mei felt a sharp pang of sympathy as she realized just how badly the boy ached to help his master.

Zabuza's face twisted into a vicious expression as he circled his opponent. "I knew this was going to happen when I joined up with you. No matter, Yagura is still dead. All that's left for me to do is finish you off, and then my ambition shall finally be fulfilled. I _will_ be Mizukage!" With those words the duel began in full, and the two Swordsmen disappeared in a storm of water and frenzied fighting.

"Terumī Mei." She halted at the sound of Uchiha Itachi's voice, having started to form hand seals even without knowing who she should attack. His baleful crimson eyes never left Haku's even as he spoke. "As close advisor to the former Mizukage and bearer of no less than two noble bloodlines, you are ideally positioned to take up the mantle of Mizukage. This transition could be a calm and peaceful one. Moreover, I believe you would be a wiser and more benevolent ruler than your predecessor. You could improve the lives of millions and help make this world less painful to look upon. If you agree to rule peacefully, then from now on Akatsuki shall leave the Mist in peace as well. Does this proposition appeal to you?"

She did her best not to show shock, despite the growing panic which threatened to overwhelm her senses. She would never have admitted her doubts while Yagura was still alive, but his transformation during the battle had forced her to acknowledge the treasonous thoughts that had always lurked in the back of her mind. _If I'm going to intervene, I have to do it now while they're fighting each other. But if his offer is genuine, then that's the best outcome I could have hoped for, isn't it? A chance to finally right all the wrongs in the Village, which is all I ever wanted…_

When she replied she put as much ice into her voice as she could manage. "And why should the Hidden Mist cooperate with Akatsuki? You have just shown how untrustworthy you are: How do I know you don't seek to make use of us, intending to betray us at earliest opportunity as you have with Zabuza?"

There was a cascade of water where the two Swordsmen's techniques clashed, each casting the same water-style techniques and breaking them against each other with equal strength. However, every time it looked like Kisame might be hit, he simply absorbed the attack with his sword and added the chakra to his own. Zabuza had no such luxury and quickly realized he had no choice but to fight in melee. The sound of their massive blades clashing echoed throughout the stone chamber.

Itachi seemed to consider her question. "Trust is a peculiar concept. For every person on the planet, there are circumstances where they will act in your best interests, as well as situations in which they would seek to destroy you. Do you call it betrayal if a friend chooses to protect his family over your own? What we mean by 'trust', then, is a form of understanding: An acceptance of another person's actions and intentions, so that we may take their preferences into account and ensure a lasting cooperation."

At that moment Haku's shuddering accelerated, and for a moment Mei thought the child would break free, but then the pressure radiating from those crimson eyes increased in intensity and the boy collapsed with a small and pitiful gasp. She hurried to catch the boy before he could drown in the water. Itachi turned to regard her now, though she still did not dare meet his gaze as he spoke.

"As he stated earlier, Zabuza was perfectly aware of our intentions, and yet he went along with our plan regardless because he hoped to betray us first. Since we both acted in accordance with this common understanding, it cannot truly be called a 'betrayal' at all – Akatsuki simply acted consistently with our desire for peace, just as announced beforehand. Simply put, the fact that you now possess greater knowledge of Akatsuki's methods and motives makes it more attractive for you to deal with us, not less."

Mei was still trying to gather her senses when a sudden surge of dread overcame her, and as she turned to look for the cause she saw that a cloud of malevolent purple chakra had formed around Momochi Zabuza, shrouding him like a daemonic cloak. As she stared in shock, Zabuza deflected his opponent's blade and kicked the blue-skinned man across the room with impossible strength. The next instant he was behind Itachi, and before she could react he had cut the young man in half with his great cleaver. No sooner did his blade cut his foe or there was an explosion, blindingly bright and deafeningly loud, and Zabuza was hurled across the water with half his flesh burned and torn off by the blast.

A murder of crows appeared out of nowhere shortly after, conjoining in the centre of the room like a dark cloud, changing and twisting until it took on the form of a man. Soon Uchiha Itachi stood before her once more, whole and uninjured, still gazing at her with the same level expression. "…don't you think that's true, Terumī Mei? I would very much like to hear your opinion."

She finally released the hand seal she had been holding, her arms falling limply along her sides. Her jaw slowly worked as Hoshigaki Kisame walked over to where Zabuza floated in the water and, still grinning, finished him off with savage blows of his great sword. The scales running along the blade did not cut, but rather _rent_ his opponent apart in great bloody chunks, and the weapon almost seemed to shudder with delight as it lapped up the lingering chakra shroud in the process. Soon there was nothing left to be recognized of the former Swordsman, yet still the monstrous man kept on hacking away with glee.

 _This is Akatsuki? I can't fight these people, not by myself – that's madness._ Her gaze went from one black-clad foe to the other, and then towards the two boys lying still besides her. At last a feeling of cold steel settled in her spine, and she walked over to where Chōjūrō lay, carrying Haku with her as she did so. She knelt beside the young Swordsman and checked his injuries, silently breathing a sigh of relief as she confirmed that he would live. "Fine," she said at last. "I will do as you ask, on one condition: This boy, Haku, stays with me. You will not take him back with you. If you refuse…" She met his eyes. "I'll _kill_ you."

Silence reigned in that stone room as Uchiha Itachi's crimson eyes bored into hers, gazing into her very essence as he weighed her words and will. Mei dreaded to think what would happen if he called her bluff, but there was no going back on her words now. At last, the barest hint of a smile appeared on the young man's face. "I suppose this is proof that I chose correctly. There is no sense in complaining if I get exactly what I asked for, after all. Very well, then: I accept your terms."

She nodded, her muscles slowly unclenching as she realized she was not about to die. "Then it is settled. I will rule Kirigakure as Fifth Mizukage, and the Mist shall take no hostile action against Akatsuki during my reign. However, if you should ever return to this place..." She looked at the two members of Akatsuki, her expression cold and hard. "Know that we will be ready for you. Leave, and never come back."

The Uchiha inclined his head politely. "I wish you the best of luck with your new position, Terumī Mei." He turned. "Come, Kisame. We are done here." The shark-man gave her an inappropriately cheery wave, and then the two of them vanished into nothingness, leaving behind only devastation and change.


	24. Action and Attraction

**A/N:** Hey all. To answer a commonly asked question, there are in fact two fundamental differences between canon and NTBS: The first is heightened rationality of all the main/smart characters, and the second is that power levels are reduced across the board. The reason for this (as you may have guessed) is that there really isn't much room for rationality when you already have overwhelming firepower. The best strategy is usually the simplest one, and in the case of canon Obito that would be just "teleport in and capture all the tailed beasts instantly" and in the case of canon Madara "Crush everything and everything by yourself instantly. That's no fun.

And fun is what it's all about!

* * *

"Hey, have you seen Sakura lately?" Naruto glanced around their old training grounds, looking for any sign of pink hair peeking out from the scattered tree stumps that stood in the centre of the forest clearing. "I haven't seen her at all since… you know."

With one month left to go before the start of the Chūnin exams, and still lacking a decisive answer from Sakura, Kakashi had decided that they might as well take the time to practice so as to leave their options open. Naruto had to admit that this made a certain amount of sense, and yet he could not help but feel that some kind of trick was being played – as if the act of preparation itself would make the coming event more likely. Like a slowly building avalanche, each rolling boulder dragged others along in its wake and added to the growing cascade without taking any conscious part in the decision. And if stones could think, Naruto wondered if perhaps they too would come up with excellent reasons for doing the seemingly senseless things they did.

"She'll join us," Sasuke said, his eyes closed in reflection as he rested against one of the many trees surrounding the forest glade. "She'll be here soon."

Naruto was just about to ask him how he could possibly know that, when Sakura emerged from the treeline and calmly walked up to them. She leaned back against the tree besides Naruto like it was the most natural thing in the world.

"Sakura-chan?" He eyed her anxiously, looking for any sign that she was still upset. "Are you okay?"

There was an odd gleam in her eyes that made him feel distinctly uncomfortable when it turned his way. "I'm fine, Naruto. I've decided that I will join you for the chūnin exams after all."

"Oh, that's good," said Naruto, unsure what to make of this new development. "Me too."

It did not take much longer for their teacher to show up after that. Kakashi body-flickered into existence upon the nearest tree stump, only a faint trail of displaced air betraying the route he had taken.

"Hey kids, good to see you're all here early." He nodded towards Sakura, not seeming surprised to see her in the slightest. "I've been preparing your training schedules these past few days, and after thinking about it long and hard I decided that the best way to prepare you all is to teach you the ancient and most noble art of genjutsu."

"We already know how to do that," Sakura said, not rising to the bait. "You trained us just before our mission in Waves."

"Did I?" Kakashi scratched his masked chin, and looked blandly off into the distance. "Huh. I suppose what I really meant is that I would teach you, uh, elemental techniques? They're as good as any, I guess."

Sasuke glared at him, his annoyance contrasting sharply with Sakura's composure. "Mastering the Grand fireball technique was an integral part of the Uchiha rite of passage, as you're perfectly well aware."

"Ah yes, I suppose it is." Kakashi's one eye turned more serious now, as he hopped off his log and walked up to the three of them. "Well, since you're all such well-prepared and talented little genin, why don't we try a little test to see how much you've learned? Let's do one of those simulations you seem to like so much." His head snapped to Naruto, causing him to jump. "Naruto! You're advancing down a corridor when an enemy ninja appears from the shadows and hurls a volley of needles at you. What do you do?"

Naruto flinched, remembering Haku. "I grab my scroll and unseal my metal shell to-"

"Too late, you're dead." Kakashi's head swivelled to face Sasuke. "The ninja forms a hand sign and sends a torrent of water rushing at you. What do you do?"

"I activate my Sharingan and leap away," Sasuke said instantly. "Then I draw my sword and-"

"There is not enough room in the corridor to dodge; the water crashes into you and tosses you aside like a ragdoll." He turned and advanced menacingly towards Sakura, the air thickening with unreleased power. "Sakura, the ninja turns towards you and forms the tiger seal. What do you do?"

"I run and hide behind Sasuke!" She flinched even as she spoke the words, and her eyes darted to Kakashi's and Sasuke's in mortified horror, clearly expecting them to start berating her. Sure enough, Kakashi's one eye narrowed in an expression of purest disdain, and then… smiled.

"Your answer is quite correct. In an ambush scenario facing an enemy with unknown abilities, there is no time to contemplate the situation or come up with a grand strategy – the only option you have is to resort to the basic, pre-planned team arrangements that you trained until you can recite them in your sleep. In this case, for the support ninja to assume formation behind the front-line fighters is precisely the sort of thing that should be second nature by now, and in addition to this you perfectly analysed that the ninja's fire technique would be countered by Sasuke's own. Very nicely done."

Sasuke stared at her with an unreadable expression and she flinched once more under his gaze, clearly wishing that their teacher had praised her a little less glowingly.

"But that's not fair," said Naruto, realizing how childish he sounded yet continuing anyway. "The simulations we ran _did_ take those things into account – Naruko didn't exactly go easy on us, you know!"

(He had tried to get back at her for the time when she left him to explain things to Kakashi, but this plan had met with the slight difficulty of having to recreate her first, at which point she always saw it coming. He consoled himself with the fact that he was at least being outsmarted by someone who was his match in terms of both brains and beauty.)

"There is a difference between being _harsh_ and being realistic," said Kakashi. "Acting like the world is dark and full of enemies waiting around every corner might make you seem wise and world-weary to a preteen academy student, but it will do nothing to prepare you for bright and blinding reality. Naruto, in your only dangerous mission so far you went up against a foe who did not actually intend to kill you. You can _never_ expect that scenario to arise again, do you understand? Realistically, nine out of ten times missions will go off without a hitch, and the results of the last one will depend on how fast you can run."

Naruto stared at the leaf-littered forest ground, unable to find a reply to that.

"Well," said Kakashi, more mildly now, "I'll admit that you're better equipped to pull of clever strategies than almost anybody else, considering your mastery of shadow clones and your enormous chakra reserves that let you get away with otherwise fatal mistakes. Still, that kind of excess cleverness is going to get you killed one day if you don't watch out." He kneeled down and took a scroll from his pouch, spreading it out over the grass and pushing aside leaves with a gust of chakra as he did so.

Sakura crouched down next to it, arms clutched around her knees as she did whenever she was truly enraptured. "I've seen this before… this is from the Second Hokage's treatise on combat tactics, isn't it?"

Kakashi smiled at her, though it seemed a little morose. "That's right. I figured that if you're going to practice combat simulations, you should at least learn the theory behind it." He pointed at the text running down the right side of the scroll, and Naruto kneeled down on the grass next to Sakura and Sasuke so he could better see what was written there. "Dodge, Block, Evade, Charm and Hide." Kakashi's finger moved to the left side of the scroll, which mirrored the text on the right. "Area, Pierce, Range, Flare and Seek. For every method of defence there exists a perfect counter: Some attacks can't be dodged, some can't be blocked, and some enemies can find you even if you're hiding deep below ground."

With a start Naruto realized what he was looking at: It was a diagram, a closed loop of techniques that each defeated the next and was countered by the one before that. _Piercing attacks smash through blocks which in turn defend against large-scale attacks that cannot be dodged…_ It was all too elegant to be entirely accurate, and yet he could see how you could model a ninja's abilities completely this way.

"I see," said Sasuke. "So, the purpose of the fireball technique is not to kill your opponent, but to force them to block or evade the attack, which then opens them up to any technique marked as having _range_ or _piercing_ ability. In fact, you could say that the measure of a ninja's power lies in the versatility of their skillset, multiplied by their ability to react instantly to the enemy and counter their techniques."

"Exactly." Kakashi's finger drifted to the top of the scroll, and then to the bottom. "Your other abilities work exactly the same way: If you have more _speed_ than the enemy you can dictate the terms of the battle, and if you have more _stamina_ you can force them to come to you. Note that these measures are purely relative: If your opponent is even slightly faster than you, then you _must not_ try to run away from them. Also, if they have more stamina than you they will catch you regardless – it'll just take a little longer. And of course, it's only the speed and stamina of your slowest comrade that really matters…"

Naruto stared hard at the scroll, the endless columns of kanji dancing and blurring before his eyes. He had been taught the basics of this back at the academy, he was sure of it, but for once the others were passing up the opportunity to scold him for failing to pay attention way back then. He supposed Sakura's ninja rules would have had something to say about attempting to carry an old civilian around while fleeing – and yet, even if he could, he doubted he would have acted any differently this time around.

A single written word stood out amidst the field of black scribbles. "What does _forbidden_ stand for?"

"Ah," said Kakashi. "Well. As you know, there are certain ninjas who possess unique powers for which there might not exist any counter at all. In a fight between two skilled jōnin who have mastered all of the basics, what truly sets them apart are their clan techniques and bloodline abilities. There frankly is no anticipating such unfortunate events as the sky falling apart or a pit of shades opening up beneath your feet to swallow you whole, and so the only counter to such forbidden abilities is _knowledge_." As he indicated the two words in the centre of the scroll, his one eye flickered ever so briefly over to Sasuke.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "And not only do these magnificent glowing red eyes grant the ability to cast genjutsu and see the colour of chakra, but I bet you don't even need to turn on a light to read a book or find your keys in the middle of the night! Truly, we are as naught before their magnificence."

Sakura shot an exasperated look at him, but Kakashi smiled in a way that seemed at least a little more genuine than before. "Strictly speaking, Naruto, your Shadow Clone technique is also considered forbidden _,_ and might just prove enough to counter the secret techniques of even jōnin-ranked ninjas." He shrugged. "Well. You three don't need to worry about that sort of thing just yet, however."

After that reassuring statement, Kakashi handed them each a piece of chakra-infused paper, meant to reveal to them their own chakra nature. Sakura seemed quite pleased to see her paper grow soggy with water, and there was a brief moment of surprise when Sasuke's crumpled from static electricity. Naruto's however merely split clean down the middle, with so little fanfare that for a moment he thought he had just torn it by accident.

"Wind chakra is quite rare you know," Sakura said, chiding him in advance of any complaints he might have about it. "You can use it to create invisible blades of wind that can cut through solid rock. That's _ranged_ , _piercing_ and _hidden_ aspects all tied together in a single attack."

"I guess." Naruto had to admit that that did sound quite powerful, and yet… "Isn't there something else I can learn, that maybe gives me enhanced mobility or something?" _Haku had the ability to teleport: Instant travel and communication, and he used it to kill people. He could have helped to save the world…_ "You said that earth is the most common element type, right? What if I learned that instead?"

Kakashi tapped his mask thoughtfully. "It's far more difficult to learn a secondary element, but I'll admit that I wouldn't be able to teach you Wind regardless, as it's my weakest element. I suppose I could take some time out of my busy schedule to teach you Hiding like a Mole and Earthen Wall… saves me from having to call in a favour from Asuma, at least."

Naruto nodded, resolute. This was clearly one of those crucial, life-transforming decisions that would determine the entire future of his ninja career. Making the wrong choice now could spell victory or defeat later down the line, but how could he ever know for certain if the decision he was about to make was one he would come to regret for the rest of his life, however few or many years that would be?

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Just use the shadow clone technique to learn both at the same time, you dolt."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea," Naruto said, grinning to let him know he had already figured that out himself. "I guess you're not as dumb as you look, wonder boy."

After that Kakashi handed each of them a technique scroll to study, and Sakura and Sasuke quickly engrossed themselves in the contents. Still, no matter how hard he tried to focus, Naruto could not help but stare at the paper that had been split in twain, the two halves of it lying discarded on the grass.

 _I wonder…_

* * *

By the time the sun reached the top of the sky, Kakashi had long vanished and left the three genin to continue training by themselves. After several long hours of staring at scrolls and attempting to create elemental chakra by clasping their hands together and focussing really hard, Sasuke had finally called it a day, declaring that they might as well practice on their own time if their teacher was not going to be of any use to them anyway. And so it was that Naruto and Sakura found themselves wondering through the busy streets of Konoha in search of a place to get lunch before they went back to training.

(It was not strictly speaking slacking off, Naruto supposed, seeing how several of his shadow clones were training with his new wind-technique teacher Sarutobi Asuma even as they spoke. The man actually turned out to be quite congenial, assuming one was wise enough not to ask ill-conceived questions such as "hey isn't that also the Third's surname?" and "How come I never see you guys together?")

"I think I'll focus on learning the Water Whip technique," Sakura mused, clearly still running jutsu-formulas through her head as they walked. "It has a low chakra cost, which is perfect for me given my small reserves, and it's nonlethal which should be ideally suited to the Chūnin Exams."

"I don't know if the exams really are going to be all that non-lethal, Sakura-chan," he said carefully. He still had not mustered up the courage to ask her what caused her to change her mind about joining, after seeming so dead-set against it earlier. "Uh, then again, it's probably not a good idea to learn techniques that you're not actually willing to use, so I guess nonlethal is fine. Good thinking, Sakura-chan."

She stopped. "Listen, Naruto. I need to apologize to you: I've been acting out on you, venting my frustrations at you just because it was convenient and you were too kind-hearted to ever complain about it." She grimaced, clearly finding it hard to continue. "You've been such a good friend to me all these years, and I never – I never even got the chance to, before… I completely took you for granted."

Naruto blinked. "Ah… don't worry about it?"

Sakura looked about to say something else, but in that moment she spotted a girl on the opposite side of the street, and she cursed under her breath. Naruto recognized the newcomer as the blond heir of the Yamanake clan, and the daughter of the mysterious man who had been there after the events with Mizuki-sensei in the forest. "Oh crap," she breathed. "It's Ino! We need to hide."

"Wait, from one of our former classmates? Why?"

"It's _Ino_ ," she said, as though that explained everything. She darted to the nearest shopping stall and ducked her head low. "Quick, pretend you're browsing for wares. Do you think she noticed me?"

Naruto gave this question all the consideration it deserved. "Sakura-chan, your hair is _pink_."

Sure enough, a round smiling face with a blond ponytail soon popped up next to Sakura, even as an overly familiar arm draped itself around her shoulders. "Why, if it isn't my favourite forehead-girl! Where've you been? Doing boring D-ranks, I bet. Do you know what _I_ have been doing?" The girl flashed an even broader grin. "That's right, a mission! C-rank. Escort. And guess just _who_ I've been escorting?"

Sakura disentangled herself and reclaimed her personal space in a smooth cat-like motion that must have taken years of special training to pull off. "Let me guess, Ino-pig: A creepy old man with a large wart on his nose and an inappropriate interest in overly young blond girls?

Ino wrinkled her nose, but the smile in her eyes remained. "Bah, no, you're not even trying." She sighed theatrically, but then her smile reappeared again – her expressions were shifting so rapidly it was making Naruto cross-eyed. "No, it was a _prince_ , from the land of Tea! That's right! I got to escort an actual _prince!_ They chose my team specifically because of my clan's special diplomatic training. We got to have royal tea-ceremonies and _everything_. I bet you're real jealous now, huh?"

Sakura crossed her arms defiantly. "Was it an _old_ prince?"

"No! Well, maybe a little bit. But he was so charming! Not quite as handsome as our Sasuke-kun of course, but he really knew how to treat a girl, unlike _some_ boys in Konoha I could mention, like Kiba."

Sakura smiled. "So I was two-third's right, then."

"We were on a mission too," Naruto said. "There weren't any charming princes in it though. Well, I mean there was this one girl who I thought was pretty, only I think she turned out to be a guy? And then, he kinda stabbed me and everyone died except for the people we were actually supposed to kill."

Ino stared at him in surprise, as though realizing for the first time he was there. "Oh wow, that sounds almost interesting. Was he a good kisser, at least?"

It took Naruto a second to find an appropriate reply to this, which was clearly too long a time to wait for Ino as her hand flew towards her forehead: "Oh wow, I totally forgot what I wanted to tell you! Did you hear the news?" She was looking at Sakura again. "There was a _revolution_ in the Land of Water! That's right, they have a new Kage now. And you'll _never_ guess who they say was leading the final assault!"

Ino was looking at Sakura expectantly, but her grin slowly faded as she realized Sakura was looking straight past her. Naruto and Ino both turned to follow her gaze, and found Sasuke standing right behind them, slouching and with both hands in his pockets as was his habit. "Hey Ino, it's been a while," he said, favouring the noble girl with a measured gaze. "So, who was it?"

"Ah," said Ino, faltering. "That is… I mean, I wasn't…"

Sasuke's expression slowly shifted: First, his eyebrows creased in confusion, as though he were trying to figure out a particularly vexing puzzle. Then his eyes and mouth tightened as the air seemed to grow thicker and heavier around him. "Well, what are you waiting for? Tell me." He took a step towards Ino, who staggered back against the wall with a small gasp. He slammed one arm against the wall next to her head, as though to prevent her from escaping, and brought his face close to hers until they almost touched. _"Say his name!"_

"Sasuke!" Sakura pulled him back with one arm, though it clearly cost her all her strength to do so. "Give her some space, for goodness sake – she can barely breathe like this!"

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something cutting in reply, but stopped when Ino finally spoke up. "Uchiha," she said haltingly, as she steadied herself against the wall. "It was Uchiha, Itachi…"

All colour vanished from Sasuke's face on the instant, but the pressure in the air redoubled. Sakura tried to put a hand on his shoulder, but he brushed her off and strode away without a single word. "Sasuke-kun!" She cried out, as she ran after him. "Wait, we were still going to train together, remember? Wait, Sasuke-kun, hold-up!"

Naruto stared after them, uncertain as to what he was supposed to think or feel or do. He turned to the girl besides him, who was still leaning back against the wall and trying to catch her breath.

"I really don't get what you girls see in that guy," Naruto said after a while. "I mean, he's a total jerk."

"To be honest, I kind of forgot," she said, her face flushed scarlet. "But now, I think I remember."

* * *

Sakura had followed Sasuke all the way back to his family's compound. Upon arrival he declared that since she was there anyway, they might as well practice their taijutsu by sparring together. The obvious reason for this was left unsaid, and Sakura accepted his offer without complaint, grateful for the chance to finally spend some time with him alone. And if his kicks and punches landed a little harder during that session than they usually did, well, she would worry about the bruises in the morning.

After losing yet another round to him, she finally tapped out, her body thoroughly spent yet feeling far from discouraged. She smiled sweetly at him: "Would you say that I'm improving, Sasuke-kun?"

"I suppose you're not getting any worse," he agreed reluctantly.

As they packed up their training equipment she moved with deliberate slowness, so that by the time they were done, it was already late in the evening. "Is it that late? The sun is about to set," she noted with feigned surprise.

He shrugged. "I'm sure it will rise again tomorrow."

"I seem to have forgotten my towel," she said, pursing her lips as she peered into her bag. "Maybe I could borrow one from your home," she suggested innocently. "It wouldn't take too long."

He gave her a look that said he knew exactly what she was playing at, and for a moment she was sure he would refuse her, but then he turned and shrugged. "If you like."

His family home was a traditional house, built during the founding of the Leaf, though _mansion_ might have been the better word for it. The two of them passed under the stone arch leading into the garden, and travelled the cobblestone path to the front gate in silence. Sakura knew from experience that trying to fill the quiet did not work with Sasuke. Sometimes it was better to say nothing, she reminded herself, though it was getting harder and harder to keep thinking that.

" _Maybe not so much where you or Naruto are concerned,"_ Kakashi had admitted, his words resounding hollowly in her ears. _"But in general terms, yes: I promise you that that is precisely how he thinks."_

As they entered the living room, she took a moment to absorb its contents. The house was overflowing with memorabilia, every bookcase and flat surface filled with ancient scrolls and clocks and family pictures, each given their own personal place of honour and kept in perfect condition. Some of the portraits and paintings had a single person removed from them, their face cut out of the centre with uncharacteristic sloppiness. The clocks were the kind with large swinging pendulums, ticking away the seconds as though they were personally responsible for the passing of time, with a swishing sound that cut through the silence like a shinigami's scythe. The overall impression was that of someone trying to fit the entirety of their clan's history into a single room, unable or unwilling to part with any of it, which she thought could not possibly be healthy. But she could not say that to him either.

They went up the stairs to the second floor, and Sasuke immediately tossed her a towel which she only barely managed to catch. She dried herself off as best she could without taking off any of her sweaty clothes; choosing to clean only her hair and exposed skin, for all that he was looking the other way.

Seeking an innocuous subject to talk about, her eye fell on an antique wooden instrument lying on the dresser, placed perfectly parallel to the window still. "I didn't know you played the flute."

"I don't." Sasuke stared down at the instrument, his expression unreadable. "Father used to make us practice the flute every day. He said that as heirs to Konoha's most noble clan, we should learn to play an instrument. He said it was a matter of clan pride, but it seems like such a waste of time now. Spending all that effort on trying to look good in front of others, when I could have trained to become stronger…"

She decided not to contradict him on that point. "Could you play a song for me?"

For a moment he said nothing, but then he relented with a shrug. He sat down on one of the chairs in front of his open balcony, and she seated herself as close to him as she dared. He took a moment to practice his finger motions and clean the flute's mouth, and then he started playing. It was a simple medley, with a gentle tempo that gave off a profound sense of sadness and loss. It brought her in mind of the time when she first befriended Ino: Being the only girl in their year without a clan, Sakura had been shy and without friends until Ino made it her personal mission to fix all of that. They had grown apart as they grew older, and had never really spoken again after being sorted into separate teams, though now she could not quite remember why. It all seemed so pointless and wasteful to her now.

By the time he finished playing there were tears forming in her eyes. "It's beautiful," she whispered.

"It's awful," he said. "I haven't been practicing, and I'm missing notes. _That man_ never missed a note, not even when he was too busy being the youngest Anbu captain ever to practice."

"Well," she said, " _I_ thought it sounded nice."

"But it doesn't matter what you think, now does it? A false note is still a false note **.** " He flung his flute over the railing, sending it off into the foliage below where it disappeared from sight.

Sakura recoiled, as much by the harshness in his voice as by the rough treatment of such a beautiful instrument. "What's the _matter_ with you? I was only trying to be nice!"

"What's the matter with me?" He turned to regard her coolly, a strange expression in his gleaming black eyes. "Good question. Sakura, you want to go out with me, right? That's why you've been asking me to help you train, as a flimsy pretext?"

She nodded, blushing furiously. This was the moment he was going to shoot her down, she knew, but there was no avoiding it now.

"Then, maybe you can tell me: Why are girls interested in me? I have never shown any interest in them, I barely even bother to disguise my contempt for them half the time, but if anything it only seems to encourage them. I'm cold and distant and I have no redeeming qualities, so what do you all want from me?"

That had _not_ been what Sakura was expecting. "That's not true, you have many qualities," she said carefully. "I mean, you're smart, you're talented, and you have, well I mean, you have good looks…"

"I meant qualities that _aren't_ reducible to being an Uchiha," he said bitterly. "What do I have that would set me apart from anyone else in my clan? Or are you saying that I'm the only Uchiha who still remains, and that's all there is to it?"

"No, not at all," she said hastily. "There's, ah, that's to say, you're, well…" _Darn it Sakura, think of something that doesn't sound stupid and shallow!_ "…you can be nice, well not always, but you can be a good friend when you feel like it…"

"Nice," Sasuke said flatly. "Naruto is nice, but I don't see you being interested in _him_."

She hesitated. "Well, Naruto isn't… I mean, he doesn't have… I guess he's just not my type, you know? Oh, I don't know Sasuke, can you ever really explain something like who we're attracted to? Humans are complicated creatures, there isn't ever going to be a simple answer to a question like that."

He nodded absentmindedly. "I've read all the scrolls and books I could find, to help me try and understand why people do the things they do. I can explain some things after the fact, but I still don't feel like I could have predicted any of it. If all the girls in our class had fallen for Naruto instead, would I be more or less confused than I am now? I don't know. Even after all this time, I still don't feel like I understand anything."

Sakura tried to picture that, all the girls in their class crushing on Naruto and forming his own personal harem, but her imagination failed her: It was simply too ridiculous a notion. "I don't think… I think Naruto is maybe a little too childish for that to ever happen. Girls generally like someone who is strong, independent, who they can rely on…" _But still a little vulnerable inside, so he can be nurtured when he's weak_. She put a finger to her lips as she considered the matter. "And, it's not really fair, but there's something about mystery that's very appealing. Someone like Naruto is so easy to read that he's just less interesting than someone with hidden depths like you. Kind of like the way a package you get to unwrap is more enticing than the same gift when it's given plainly for everyone to see."

He scoffed loudly. "That's right, what you're really interested in is unwrapping my package."

She struck him before she even knew what she was doing, and the sound of her slap resounded through the still night. She instantly withdrew her hand, horrified upon seeing the red handprint she left behind on his smooth pale skin. "I'm – I'm so sorry," she said falteringly. "I didn't, I didn't mean to…" She stopped when she saw his empty expression.

"It doesn't matter," he said flatly. "I said something to hurt you, and so you wanted to hurt me back. You just used your hand because you couldn't think of words to do the same. Really, for a ninja you're not very good at hurting people, Sakura."

For a moment she was too flabbergasted to say anything, but then the words poured forth like molten iron from a forge. "Right, because you don't care what anyone else thinks about you, do you, Sasuke? No, for a moment there I forgot that you're completely indifferent to the world around you. Tell me, are you planning to be alone forever? Do you prefer it that way, or are you actually stupid enough to believe that if you allow yourself a moment of happiness you won't be strong enough to kill Itachi? Because you're even more oblivious than Naruto, if that's the case!"

For the first time that day, for the first time she could remember since they were alone in the house of dying villagers amongst the ice and the fire, something awakened in those eyes: A smouldering fury that would have frightened her into silence, if she did not have her own fury to counter it. "How dare–"

"Because that's what this is really about, isn't it? Don't think for a moment you were going to slip that one past me – I'm not half as stupid as you seem to think. You want to understand why Itachi did what he did? You want to know whether you're like him or not? Then tell me about it, and ask me directly, instead of dancing around the issue and talking about my feelings as though you actually cared!"

For once Sasuke seemed to be lost for words, his well run dry of biting comments and clever comebacks. "That's, that is none of your business! You know nothing about my clan, and you have no idea what even happened back then. You have no right to talk about any of that!"

"No, of course I don't know what happened," she shot back, "because you never talk about it! You close yourself off completely, even to your own team. People you depend on, and whose lives depend on you. You're right: I don't know what you're thinking, I have no idea what's really going on when you're hurt or what I should do about it, but it's sure as heck not going to get any better by itself! So, let me guess – Your brother killed your family, and your response is to dedicate your life to him? What kind of revenge is that supposed to be? Are you planning to give him a memorial and bury yourself next to him as well?"

Sasuke rose up in a flash, his body moving faster than her eyes could follow, and suddenly his hand was wrapped around her neck. He pushed her back against the balustrade with merciless strength, a sudden wind whipping her hair across her face as she struggled for balance, and for a brief mad moment she thought he would throw her off the balcony – mad indeed, for you did not let go off a ninja's neck if you wanted to kill them, and in any case a fall from that height would not seriously injure her.

Sasuke had activated his Sharingan, and his crimson eyes were boring directly into hers. She stared back defiantly, ignoring the pain from where his fingers dug into her skin. There was a long moment of silence, and then at last he unclenched his hand, relaxing his fingers one by one as if it cost him all the willpower in the world to do so. Finally his Sharingan receded, and he lowered his gaze. "I'm… I'm sorry."

"…doesn't matter." She massaged her neck, managing a wan smile despite the pain. "After all, I said something to hurt you first, and really – for a ninja you're not very good at hurting people, Sasuke."

He stared at her with a strange, unreadable expression on his face. Even as she wondered what he must be thinking, a distant part of her tried to recall if she had ever heard him apologize for anything before.

"I am not going to give up on my vengeance," he said at last. "I _will_ kill that man. It's the only thing left to me that truly matters anymore. If you're planning to talk me out of that, you can forget it."

"That's fine," she said, though it wasn't, not really. "If we can talk about it at all, that's good enough for me."

He did not say anything else, however, but merely stared out of the veranda and cast his gaze across the forest roof of Konoha. By now the sun had well and truly set, and the moon was starting its long journey across the sky, casting a pale light over the vast treeline. When a brisk wind struck up and rushed through the leaves it set the shadows dancing and twisting amongst the foliage like a congregation of nocturnal spirits. After a while she could no longer tell the nightlife and the shadows apart, their movements intersecting as if they were mingling and playing with one another.

"I suppose I'd better go and look for my flute," he said at last.

"Ah, right." She sent a furtive glance back towards the apartment. "I'll go see if I can find a lamp. It's getting pretty dark, after all…"

"No need," Sasuke said. When she turned around, she saw that he had his Sharingan activated once more, his face highlighted by a distinctive crimson glow. He was smirking, the characteristic half-smile looking somehow more genuine on him than when he tried to smile in full. "Naruto was right, you know: These eyes really are great for finding things in the dark."


	25. Tests and Trauma

**A/N:** Hmmm, the update is a day late. I appear to be slipping.

This chapter features another of my favourite characters (Guess who?). Man, some people are just so much fun to write.

Edit: Oh man I totally forgot to add this little snippet - I originally wanted to show much more of Tobirama's writing on combat tactics, but it didn't work out pacing-wise:

 **Tobirama's Creed**

Hone these things that you will need:

Knowledge, Power, Stamina, Speed.

Beware thine trappings of conceit;

Be you in melee outmatched – retreat!

Hurl your tag to raise their shield

Pierce the guard that it would yield

Sense the foe beneath the field

Chakra flared is truth revealed

One fact surely cannot fail

Forbidden power; widow's wail

Seek out wisdom, break the veil

Only thus may you prevail.

And then, having gotten his poetry aspirations out of his system, the entire rest of his dissertation would consist of giving clearcut instructions written in such a simple way that any five year old could understand it, because Tobirama is not an idiot.

* * *

The days went by quickly, as they always did when you wished for them to pass slowly, and then it was the morning of the chūnin exams. The three genin were standing side-by-side in front of the building's entrance, each lost in their own thoughts. Naruto was finally starting to feel the full weight of what they were about to do: If they were ever going to turn back, now would have been the time.

"Let's go," said Sasuke, and they went.

The first round of the Exam was to be held in the same red round Academy building they had spent so much time in during their formative years, and yet suddenly its dusky rooms and dank hallways seemed so much more ominous than they had before. Logic dictated that the building should seem smaller to them now, but somehow the opposite seemed to be the case. As they made their way through the long corridors to the registration desk, old unwanted memories began to resurface in Naruto's mind, bringing with them feelings of loneliness and resentment that he had thought long forgotten.

As the team handed in their entrance forms, Naruto spotted an oddly familiar boy clad in forest greens with a black bowl cut, along with another boy and girl each of whom were handing in their own forms. Suddenly Naruto's memory sparked with recognition. "Hey, you're that guy, right? From the forest? You were doing laps around the Village on your hands, and saying all that crazy stuff about becoming a ninja even though you can't mould chakra, and holding on to vows that make no sense."

"Naruto!" Sakura looked like she wanted to bob him on the head, but she visibly held herself back. "You can't speak like that to upperclassmen. They're older than us; you have to accord them respect."

Even as Sakura berated him, a small snort emanated from the new girl. "That sounds like Lee, all right." She was small and round-faced, with brown hair tied up in buns that made her look a little like a panda, though Naruto thought it better not to mention the fact. "I'm Tenten, by the way."

The boy in green frowned at Naruto, his thick eyebrows making him look strangely sincere. "You should not underestimate the power of youth. It is my firm belief that hard work and dedication can overcome any barrier, no matter how tall. With enough practice, even someone like me who cannot mould chakra can overcome reality and accomplish the impossible."

"But – but that doesn't…" Naruto spluttered helplessly, struggling to explain the patently obvious. "Look, first of all you're not really a _ninja_ if you aren't able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu, if anything that would make you a samurai – but you definitely can't overcome _reality itself_ , that's completely nonsensical!"

"How do you know?" Lee asked curiously. "Have you ever tried it?"

"It's not a matter of trying! Reality is _real_ , I mean, that's just what the word means. That's like saying you're going to draw a square circle – it's a totally different kind of impossible from just saying you're going to fix all of the world's problems or something like that. It literally can't be done!"

"I see," said Lee. "But just because something cannot be done does not mean you should not do it."

Naruto opened his mouth to form a response to this, but the boy beside Lee shook his head wearily. "Do not strain yourself; arguing against Lee only makes his conviction stronger. I suspect he was struck in the head a few too many times while sparring in his youth." His pale skin and eyes and dark ponytail marked him as a member of the Hyūga clan, just like Hinata, though he sounded nothing like her. "You are Hatake Kakashi's team, are you not? Our sensei has made mention of you. Particularly…" he focussed his gaze on Sasuke. "What is your name?"

Sasuke regarded the older boy apprehensively. "You know, when you ask for someone's name it's generally considered polite to introduce yourself first." He turned to face Tenten, giving her a small nod. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke, by the way – I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance."

The girl blushed ever so slightly in response. _Well, of course she does_.

The Hyūga boy crossed his arms and glared at Sasuke. "Never mind, everyone already knows who _you_ are, Uchiha. The proctors must be excited, having the heir to Konoha's second most noble clan taking part in their Exams."

"I would have been happy to grant the honoured Hyūga clan that title," Sasuke replied easily. "But I'm flattered you would grant us both first and second place. I imagine these exams will end with a very similar result."

The Hyūga's eyes narrowed dangerously, and his teammates tensed. "We shall see. Perhaps it _would_ be fun to crush you in the finals and show the world just how pathetic your clan really is – but then, I suppose your brother has already done us that favour." He turned around and strode out of the room. "Let's go. Lee. Ten-ten."

The two older boys swiftly left the room, while the girl gave an embarrassed bow and mouthed a silent apologybefore hurrying on after them. Sakura shot a worried look at Sasuke, who was trembling ever so slightly as he stared at the spot where the newcomers had left. "Sasuke-kun, are you all right?"

Slowly, a weak grin formed on Sasuke's face. "This exam... it looks like it's going to be _interesting_."

* * *

They stepped through the door to the waiting room, and Naruto was instantly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of _people_ there. He immediately spotted the upperclassmen of before amongst the bustling crowd – though Naruto avoided eye-contact with them – but there were also genin from countless other villages, each in their own uniforms and wearing their Village's insignia's on their headbands. Naruto recognized the broad straw hats of the Hidden Grass, and of course the dusty and dour Sand ninjas were easy to spot, but there were countless others that Naruto could not place. He also could not help but notice how much _older_ the other contestants were compared to him, and he wondered if perhaps the other Villages had sent some chūnin over to compete as genin while simultaneously spying on the others. In fact, now that he thought about it, he found it almost inconceivable that they had _not_.

They had already submitted their entrance forms, but perhaps it was not yet too late to turn back…

"Oh, Sasuke-kun!" With her clan's telepathic abilities, Ino had instantly located Sasuke and was now draping herself over him. "You're late! I was afraid you would not make it. We're all just so eager to see you in action!" She was followed at a distance by her team mates Chōji and Shikamaru, who were wisely staying out of this.

"Oh, hey guys," said Naruto. "I didn't know you were taking the exam too."

Shikamaru opened his mouth to reply, but he was interrupted by a loud groan from Sakura. "Oh for goodness sake, Ino-pig, unhand him! Have you no sense of shame or moral decency? You would think the heir to the noble Yamanaka clan would know better than to behave like some back alley prostitute. "

"And there is our precious little Sakura." Ino motioned to Sakura with a roll of her eyes. "Sasuke-kun, _please_ tell me that this humourless harridan has not yet managed to seduce you with her vile and bookish wiles. I realize you men can get lonely on those cold nights away from the Village, but surely the thought of me waiting for you would have kept you warm?" Her voice took on a note of concern. "Hey, you don't have a thing for grotesquely engorged foreheads, do you?"

Sasuke disentangled himself with admirable stoicism. "Never more so than in this moment."

Ino huffed loudly, hands on her hips as she mock-pouted. "Tch, why is it that all the best looking boys have such terrible taste in girls? What's a beautiful young woman like me to do?"

"Hah, forget about the pretty boy, Ino – it's about time you let a _real_ man into your life." This remark was followed by loud yapping noises from Kiba's large white dog, Akamaru. The feral boy grinned at the group as he stepped out of the crowd, his friend Shino in tow. "Looks like the old gang's back together! Did you all come here just to watch me win these exams? Aww, you shouldn't have."

Sasuke gave the newcomer a smirk. "You seem confident, Kiba. Did your master feed you an extra portion of biscuits today?"

"Har, no. We've got ourselves a special weapon – a secret source of information! The other teams won't know what hit 'em. But, since we're all friends here I'll share it with you… for a cost."

"There is no point in asking for money," said Shino. Between his hood and upturned collar it was almost impossible to gauge his expression. "Why? Because Ino can easily use her chakra sensing ability to tell that you're referring to the person in the corner of the room who is surrounded by all the others."

"Aw, come on!" cried Kiba. "What'd you tell them that for? I was about to make a fortune here."

Shino adjusted his glasses. "Why? Because you just said that we are friends, and friends should act as one for the good of the whole. That is what I believe the word 'friend' means."

Kiba's secret source of information turned out to be an older genin with glasses by the name of Kabuto – one who had already failed the exam six times, no less. His claim to fame was a huge assortment of cards with information on each of the exam's participants, complete with an in-depth analysis of their strengths and weaknesses.

He smiled warmly at them. "Ah, more rookies fresh out of the academy, is it? There are more of you than usual this year." He turned several cards over with a flick of his finger. "I have all the information available right here, on these cards: For a small price, you can gain a significant edge over your enemy by buying their card from me – or you can buy your own card, if you want to protect your privacy. Selling information on others or trading info for info is fine too, if you prefer. Everything works for me."

The other rookies quickly fell upon the cards, trying to see what the data had to say about them, but Kabuto withdrew his goods with a wag of his finger, and soon he had them haggling over prices.

Naruto frowned at the sight. "Come on guys, let's just go. This is obviously a scam of some sort."

"Huh, a scam?" Kiba turned around and acknowledged Naruto's existence with a sniff. "What are you babbling about? This is our ticket to an easy victory, right here."

Naruto stared at him. "Kiba, this guy said he failed the exam _six times_. I mean, if that's true, then he's gotta be the most incompetent ninja ever, in which case why listen to anything he has to say? It's totally obvious he's taking this exam over and over just so he can sell his stuff to people like us, and come on – he's only selling his information to rookies? That doesn't sound suspicious to you at all?"

"Hey, maybe he's just a nice guy and he's trying to help us out, you don't know." This remark was followed by a derisive snort from Sasuke, which caused Kiba to turn a bright shade of red. "Bah, I bet you're just jealous you didn't find out about this guy yourself. What the hell makes you think you know anything about it, anyway? You didn't even bother to show up for the academy exams, and you had to get your daddy to bail you out. I don't need to take crap like this from a dropout like you."

Naruto stared at him, dumbstruck. "But that was because – wait. You really think I'm stupid?"

"Uh, _yeah?_ You're a dumbass and everyone knows it; you don't even know how to speak properly! Even your own team mates call you an idiot, like, all the time. Dumbass." Satisfied that he had won the argument, Kiba turned and walked away. "Come on, let's leave these losers to it. We've got an exam to win." Shino seemed to follow more out of a sense of obligation than anything else.

"They're just saying that to make fun of me, they don't actually mean any of that stuff!" Naruto trailed off as he stared at the circle of faces surrounding him. _Do they?_

"Just ignore him," said Shikamaru. The Nara clan heir was rubbing the sleep from his eyes, managing to look just as bored after the heated exchange as right before. His elongated face and pony tail gave his features a sharp and pointed look, but that was the only thing that looked sharp about him. "Look, when you spend all your time around genius-types like Hatake Kakashi and Sasuke, it's easy to forget just how dumb most people are – though I don't really think Kiba is all that stupid, in fact I'd say he's above average. But when you're put in the same class as all the Village's clan heirs, I guess it gets all the more important that you're not at the bottom of the pack." He sighed. "Man, what a pain."

To Shikamaru's right, the rotund Chōji was nodding firmly along as always. "You said it, Shikamaru."

Naruto was just about to reply to the duo, when a familiar voice piped up behind him.

"I'm – I'm sorry, Naruto-kun… I'm sure Kiba-kun didn't mean it like that…"

Naruto turned around to find a pale, dark haired girl standing right behind him, almost the mirror image of the Hyūga he met earlier. "Oh, Hinata-chan! Wait, were you standing behind me this whole time?" A blush crept onto her cheeks. "Oh wow, I totally didn't notice you. What're you doing here?"

"I… I'm here to p-participate in the chūnin exams, Naruto-kun." Her blush intensified. "I'm on K-Kiba-kun's team."

Naruto froze on the spot. "But that's – I mean, isn't that… uhm, you know, dangerous?" Hinata stared at her feet, unable to speak. Dimly, Naruto noticed Ino shooting him a warning glance.

 _I should tell her to quit_. _I should tell her right now, before it's too late._

Naruto opened his mouth to speak. "Hinata-chan… I don't think…" She looked up, her pale eyes full of fear of what he might say next. Everyone was staring at him now. "I mean, what I want to say is…"

 _She's going to get hurt. She'll die out there, and it'll be your fault. Tell her to quit!_

Naruto stuck up his thumb and smiled falteringly. "G-good luck in the exams, Hinata-chan!"

 _Coward. I am a useless, worthless, spineless coward._

Hinata smiled in surprise and, still flustered, nodded mutely. Suddenly, there was an expulsion of air in the doorway as the exam proctors arrived: It seemed the first round of the exams was about to begin. Naruto saw the head examiner standing in the doorway, and nearly choked.

… _You've got to be kidding me._

* * *

There was an exam booklet lying open on the desk in front of Naruto, as well as a note sheet. Both were empty.

The reason they were empty was because there was a man standing in front of Naruto. A man built like a bear, wearing a stark grey uniform with a great black overcoat, and black leather gloves that creaked whenever he flexed his fingers. His face was like a slab of meat that had been savaged by a wild animal. It was the same man who had made Mizuki-sensei scream in abject terror, and weep tears of blood.

It was a man by the name of Morino Ibiki.

Naruto had asked Sakura about him, and she had found out all that she could: It turned out that he had already been head of the Torture and Interrogation unit of the Anbu during the Kyūbi's attack on Konoha. When the head of the Intelligence Division died in the attack, Ibiki had been promoted to that position as well, effectively making him his own master. And because the Uchiha clan had been directing Konoha's police force by virtue of their unique abilities, the Uchiha massacre had left the Anbu as the primary enforcers of the law, which of course needed to be led by somebody...

In the span of a few years, Morino Ibiki had become the sole master of a force of silent assassins that could make anyone disappear into the night, answerable to no one but the Hokage. He had gained more than anyone else from the sins and tragedies of the past. If Naruto had met anyone since reading his father's letter who he thought capable of being behind it all, it was _him._ And this person had been assigned to coordinate the chūnin exams this year. In fact, he had almost certainly volunteered for it.

Why?

Naruto had not a single answer.

He stared at his exam sheet, the words fading in and out and dancing before his eyes. He had _known_ there might be a written exam, since there had been one last time as well. He had created a set of shadow clones in advance for just such a situation. He had left them at the public Library, ready to read anything he ordered them to and transfer the knowledge directly to his mind.

And it was completely pointless, because Naruto could not even focus long enough to read the first question, let alone figure out a way to create and dispel a shadow clone unseen to contact the others.

He was going to fail the exam without having read even a single question.

He dared a glance upwards. Morino Ibiki was looking directly at him, and smiling.

* * *

Nara Shikamaru stared at the exam instructions. It seemed everyone started with ten points, one for each question. For each failed question a point was subtracted, while being caught cheating cost you two points. The total score for each team was to be summed together, and only the highest scoring teams would be allowed to continue to the next round.

The implications were obvious, if you read between the lines: This was a test that encouraged cheating. Moreover, if you considered that the rankings were relative and that it was unknown how many participants would pass, it made it tempting to try and sabotage the others. Add to that the fact that they were being watched by proctors on every side, fuelling the uncertainty and the tension of the situation… this was truly an exam designed by and for ninjas.

"Inuzuka Kiba! Minus two points," one of the proctors suddenly called out. Kiba let out a low growl in response. It looked like the idiot had tried to send his dog to steal someone's exam papers – as though that could ever work. All around the room inexperienced genin were making clumsy attempts to cheat, before promptly getting caught, while the smarter participants watched and bided their time.

No, sabotaging others was too dangerous: It only improved your ranking compared to that one specific person, and it risked even worse retaliation from anyone worth sabotaging. It looked like the key to passing this exam was to carefully evaluate risk and reward in a situation that simulated a real information-gathering mission, being able to quickly read an unfamiliar situation and of course, cooperating with your teammates without actually speaking.

" _Shikamaru,"_ Ino's voice sounded in his head. It looked like she had finally activated her clan's mental technique. " _I'm ready. What do you want me to do?"_

 _Start by reading the minds of people in the room that are writing, and copy any answers that you see multiple times,_ he replied. _Once you've answered every question, communicate them to me and Chōji. Then if you have any chakra left, you can start planting false suggestions in the minds of whoever has at least as many questions correct as we do, without alerting them to your presence._

Shikamaru mentally readied his Shadow Imitation technique, black strands of darkness forming under his desk as he prepared to counterattack whoever was foolish enough to try and sabotage his team. The whole test would be a drag if he did not get do at least _something_ interesting, after all.

* * *

A rictus grin was fixed onto Sasuke's face. _I see… It seems I can't answer even a single one of these questions. So that's how it is._

If Sasuke could not answer the questions, then it stood to reason that the proctors did not expect them to be answered. Therefore, the exam was meant to test the participant's information-gathering ability in a hostile environment by encouraging them to cheat… or so they would have him believe.

He recalled Hatake Kakashi's words. _A ninja must see underneath the underneath, was it?_

If he was right, then the _true_ purpose of the test was to give them the opportunity to spy on the techniques of their enemies, giving them vital information in preparation for the coming rounds. Even as he used the Sharingan to copy answers, he kept one eye on his surroundings at all times, reading the flow of his opponents' chakra with perfect clarity as they cast their techniques.

 _I see… so that Sand Ninja is able to create a third eye out of the sand he carries in the gourd on his back, and he can let it float freely to spy on those around him. I'll need to watch out for that one._

* * *

Sakura was not thinking about any of this; she was having too much fun answering the exam questions.

A determined smile played on her lips, her mind fully focussed on the task at hand. Finally, _finally_ the academy was treating her with the seriousness she deserved. The questions were truly perfectly designed – each of them relevant and challenging in an entirely novel and interesting way.

After checking over her answers for the fourth time, the thought occurred to her that Naruto was probably having some difficulty with the test. After deliberating for a moment, she formed hand seals and cast a genjutsu on him: Genjutsu worked by manipulating the subconscious, but if she could just _suggest_ the form of the correct answers to him… there. _That should help the poor guy out a little._

Satisfied that she had made the right decision, she went back to checking her answers for the fifth time. One could never be too careful, after all.

* * *

After forty-five minutes of nerve-wrecking tension, Naruto received a sudden flash of inspiration in which the correct answers to the test were revealed to him. This was made all the more amazing by the fact that he had still not succeeded in reading even a single question. Fifteen minutes of frantic writing later, Naruto put down his pencil and managed to start breathing again.

"Time's up," Morino Ibiki declared. "Anyone who is still writing by the time I finish speaking this sentence is disqualified." All around the room the sound of falling pencils reverberated. The man clacked his fingers. "Applicant number fifty-two: Disqualified." Cries of protest arose and were immediately silenced as the proctors fell upon the girl's team and dragged them out of the room.

Morino Ibiki stood looming over them, both hands in his pockets as he addressed the room. "Anyone who passed this test will understand already, but I will explain it for the dim-witted: This round was meant to test your ability to gather information by encouraging you to cheat. However, there is another shinobi quality that is even more important, which is the ability to follow orders. For the remainder of the exam, anyone who tries to be clever by bending the rules will be disqualified. There will be no fighting without permission of the examiner, and even if permission is granted, killing your opponent will not be tolerated. Furthermore, anyone who breaks Konoha's laws will be held accountable under the full extent of the law – meaning you'll have to deal with _me_. Am I making myself clear?"

The room was deathly silent.

"Good. You will now go back to the waiting room. You will sit there and do nothing until the results are in. Those that passed this round will then follow Mitarashi Anko to the next stage of the exam – she will continue as examiner at that point and you will obey her as you obey me. The rest of you will leave. Go."

The entire room sat frozen for a moment, and then the area exploded with movement as everyone rushed for the exit all at once. Naruto mixed himself in with the crowd, trying to hide within the press of bodies as he slowly wormed his way towards the door. _Almost… almost… nearly there!_

Something cold and hard snaked up his leg. He let out a frightened scream as it _yanked_ his leg out from underneath him until he was on his belly and sliding away from the exit, pulled between and past the feet of the other contestants even as his fingernails screeched over the wooden floorboards. The last of the genin fled the room and slammed the door shut behind them, never so much as looking backwards.

"Not you, Uzumaki."

The cold hard thing let go of Naruto's leg and he crawled away in terror. He propped his back against a desk and turned to stare at the disfigured face of the man who might well have killed his father and burned the Village. A long iron chain was slithering its way up the examiner's sleeve before disappearing entirely. "We did not get time to talk the last time we met – how are you holding up?"

Naruto stared at the monstrous man. "What?"

"As Konoha's chief interrogator, I'm well aware of the effect mental trauma can have on a developing mind," Morino Ibiki said, "especially for a sheltered peacetime child such as yourself. I'm asking whether you feel prepared for the remaining rounds of this exam. There is no shame in backing out at the last moment: Being able to pick and choose your battles is an important ninja quality as well."

Naruto found purchase on the desk's edge and pulled himself upward, not trusting his shaking legs to support him. "You don't care how I feel."

The man's scarred lips twisted upwards. "You have no idea what I care about." His expression grew serious again. "I understand that during your one and only dangerous mission, something none of us want to see happen almost came to pass. Now you are about to enter a similarly dangerous situation. Is there any risk of the same thing happening again?"

It took a second for Naruto to realize what he was talking about, and then another to consider how he should reply. "My dad doesn't think so."

"Your father is a pervert and a drunk," the torturer replied. "I'm asking what _you_ think."

"My dad's not-" Naruto cut himself off: The man was not _technically_ wrong. "I mean, I don't think so. That thing only happened because of a very specific set of circumstances." Specifically: Naruto being merely very nearly dead and not totally completely dead. "Of course, it shouldn't even have happened in the first place, so I guess we can't be completely certain…" Maybe calling it off _would_ be a good idea.

"We'll take precautions," said the man. He sat down on one of the examiner's chairs, pulled off his black leather gloves and began rubbing his hands gingerly. They were burned, but not as horribly burned as he had expected. "Those specific circumstances already happened last time, and it turned out well enough. If anything this is the perfect test: With the Anbu standing at the ready and everyone else watching, we'll find out…" He noticed Naruto staring at him. "Am I bothering you?"

"Bother?" Naruto gaped at him. "You _torture_ people."

He half expected the man to deny it, but he merely gave him an annoyed look. "Is that what this is about? You civilians… what do you even think torture is? Do you think it's just a matter of inflicting as much pain as possible on someone until they talk?"

Naruto hesitated, unsure how to respond. It was not as if he had given it much thought.

"Bah." The man pointed at his disfigured face. "Do you think I would look like this if I had been tortured by someone competent? Bloody amateurs had no idea what they were doing." He shook his head. "Real torture isn't about causing pain, boy, it's about fear: Pull a man's teeth out, and he'll curse you until his death, but do the same to his friend while he can just _barely_ make out what's happening…" The man was smiling in full now, and what a smile it was: Naruto could easily imagine red blood running down those teeth after a fresh kill. "I suppose that's why I wanted to master the art: If you're going to do a job, you should do it _right_. Though, it's nearly all Yamanaka-style mindreading nowadays…"

"But," said Naruto, "but… you _torture_ people."

"Yes, I torture people!" The man waved his burned right hand irately. "Do you think you're the first to bring it up? The Village's clans… all those blessedly noble twits sneer at me behind my back, but do any of them ever volunteer to do my job? No, they're all perfectly happy to keep Papa Ibiki around to curse and hate and fear, but the moment they have someone to interrogate they come knocking at my door. This Village's leadership is nothing but hypocrites, and you're no different, boy." His eyes narrowed, and Naruto shrank back. "Though, at least _you_ have the guts to insult me to my face."

"I wasn't trying to insult you, sir," Naruto said feebly, suddenly questioning his wisdom from before. "I was just… you know, wondering about all the torture you do. Sir."

Ibiki stared at him a moment longer, and then he suddenly burst out laughing. "Hah! You know what? I think I just might be starting to _like_ you, boy." He slapped his knees with his ruined hands as he laughed, which must have hurt him immensely. "Well, off you go then, lad. Interrogation is over."

Naruto half stumbled towards the exit, pausing only when he had reached the door. "Sir," he said, as he half turned around. "About Mizuki-sensei…" He swallowed. "What really happened to him?"

Ibiki smiled, baring his teeth. "I think the second round is about to start. You wouldn't want to disappoint the proctors by being late, would you?"

Naruto turned and ran.


	26. Predators and Prey

"Welcome to the stage for the second test," the examiner proclaimed to the contestants, indicating the humongous eldritch forest behind her. "Practice area forty-four, also known as the Forest… _of Death_!"

Naruto finally managed to worm his way through the gathered throng, only to find an irate Sakura waiting for him. "Where were you? We could have been disqualified!"

"I had a meeting with Ibiki," he retorted. "My screams of anguish might've tipped you off."

Sasuke shrugged. "Hey, if we let ourselves get distracted every time you scream like a little girl about something, we'd never get anything done."

"The aim of this round is to fight for survival," the examiner continued. "Each team will enter the forest through a different gate carrying a 'heaven' or 'earth' scroll. The goal is to reach the tower in the centre within the allotted time, carrying at least one of each scroll. Of course, that means at least half of you won't make it – and probably more if you consider the poisonous plants and monsters, heh heh."

Naruto motioned towards the scantily-clad examiner. "Who's the crazy lady in the coat and fishnet?" Something about the look in her eyes was making his hairs stand on end.

"Her?" Sakura glanced at the examiner, also clearly unsettled. "She's Mitarashi Anko. She was a student of Orochimaru, the Snake Sannin, before he left the Village. They say he drove her mad with his cruel experiments, then left her behind like trash. Nobody wanted anything to do with her because they were afraid she might be a spy, until the Third Hokage took pity on her and invited her into the Anbu."

Naruto looked at the woman in a new light. _So she's one of Ibiki's, huh?_ Somehow, that did nothing at all to reassure him.

"Anyone who wants to wuss out and quit the exam – for whatever bizarre reason – can open their scroll to alert the chūnin proctors." The examiner, Anko, glanced at her notes. "There's some more boring stuff in here, but eh, I guess that's about it."

"Hey!" Naruto stepped forward. "I detect a flaw in your test, lady: If we're gonna fight each other to get the scrolls, how the heck is anyone supposed to call for help after losing theirs?"

The woman grinned savagely. "I'd say the losers have no right to call for help, since after all they're the ones who lost and so they deserve to die…" Her grin turned into a sigh. "Buuut, what I should say instead is that the Hokage got the Hyūga to watch the teams with their Byakugan at all times, and the Anbu are at the ready to get anyone who is wounded to the tower's hospital." She glared at Naruto, as though he were personally responsible for this affront. "Anyone _else_ have any smart questions?"

Nobody did.

"Then it's time to head for your gates! Go, go, go!"

* * *

"Ok, point of order," said Naruto, as he stared at the humongous trees rising up before them. "What the heck is with this place?" He had heard of the Forest in stories, of course, but to see it in person…

"It's a high chakra density area," Sakura explained. "Chakra tends to naturally group together in places like these, allowing the local flora and fauna to absorb it and grow larger and stronger than they otherwise could. You can think of the Forest as a… a natural valley, which gathers water from the mountaintops after each period of rain or snow, slowly filling until it eventually turns into a vast lake."

"Ah," said Naruto. "So uh, there really could be things like giant mutated chakra bears in there?"

"I'm afraid so."

"At least tell me there won't be any giant chakra mosquitoes."

"No," said Sakura, "but there are giant leaches that leap at you from the trees."

" _Jumping tree leaches?_ That's even worse!" Naruto groaned. "What about mutated chakra humans?"

"Those exist," said Sasuke. "They're called ninjas."

"He's right," said Sakura. "Humans that lived in areas like these slowly evolved to use chakra consciously, as opposed to ordinary animals which only ever use it passively. Some scholars even say that the reason we grew intelligent in the first place was because it allowed us to use chakra better, by harnessing the power of our concentration and imagination. Although, that does raise the question of why most people are unable to become ninjas, despite the clear evolutionary advantage it offers…"

Naruto frowned. The official scholarly explanation had never quite satisfied him, though he had to admit it still made more sense than the old legend about ninjas gaining chakra by eating fruit from a forbidden tree. He still could not understand why most people never thought to respond with the most blatantly _obvious_ question, of where the forbidden tree had come from then. Somehow, it was as if people almost had the right idea of trying to simplify reality as much as possible, but then instead of genuinely trying to simplify the world they invented a simple story instead. Like a runner in a race aiming merely to look good in front of others, unable to understand why he could never quite reach the finish line no matter how hard he tried.

"Enough with the academics," said Sasuke. "The gates are opening: Let's go."

The team dashed through the metal gates and into the eldritch forest, day passing into night as the overarching forest canopy blocked out almost all light – and yet, through the miracle of chakra, the undergrowth was just as vibrant, with bright flowers radiating colours that warned danger. They leaped from humongous branches to massive fallen logs, defying gravity by running along the length of hanging trees; never daring to disturb what lurked in the shrubbery below by setting foot upon the ground.

"Hey, uh, where're we going?" Naruto jumped from one giant tree branch to the next, furtively scanning his surroundings as he went. "Do we have some sort of plan?"

"We're going away from here," Sasuke answered without looking back. "There are people in this exam who know who we are and who I'd rather not meet. If you want a plan, feel free to come up with one."

"Uh, okay," said Naruto. "Wait, hold on." The next branch shuddered under his weight as they came to a halt. "Stop. We can't run through this place and discuss tactics at the same time, that's just begging for us to run into… into…" A dark shape that he had thought to be merely another branch of the tree began to crawl up towards them. "Oh _Kami_."

"It's just a stick insect," Sakura chided. "They're perfectly harmless herbivores."

"It's a _giant mutated chakra insect_ ," Naruto countered. "You have no idea what it does or does not eat!"

"For the love of…" Sasuke's eyes flashed crimson, and the monstrous Nanafushi fell from the tree and crashed into the foliage below. "There. _Now_ can we come up with a plan to pass this exam?"

"Uh, right," said Naruto, still keeping a suspicious eye out for movement below. "I guess… I mean, our goal is to get an Earth scroll, right, but the Examiner didn't say we had to fight for it. So we could just send shadow clones out to try and steal one, or maybe trade for one if we get another Heaven Scroll. Or, we could send shadow clones out to convince people we _want_ to trade and then we attack them and take their scroll – or I guess we could head towards the tower and set up a trap there, or better yet we could send shadow clones to the tower to _get_ trapped and then we ambush the trappers, or I guess I could tunnel underground with my new earth technique and then use shadow clones to-"

"Stop," said Sasuke, rubbing his forehead with two fingers. "Is there _any_ conceivable plan that does not start with you casting the shadow clone technique and sending them out to scout?"

That sounded like one of those philosophy things that were a lot harder to prove than to know the answer to. "I guess not?"

"Then start with doing that," said Sasuke, "and we'll figure out the rest in the meantime."

"Okay," said Naruto. "But uh, first I gotta do the one thing no shadow clone could possibly do for me."

Sakura frowned. "What's that?"

Naruto pointed behind him. "I gotta go take a wee."

* * *

Sakura stared after Naruto as he disappeared to the other side of the tree, shaking her head. "Five minutes into the Forest of Death, and he has to go. I swear, only Naruto…"

"The only ninja who is afraid of the dark." Sasuke sighed. "You know, of all the things in this world I can't figure out, the greatest mystery has to be the fact that Naruto hasn't managed to get himself killed yet."

"He _did._ " Sasuke gave her a questioning look. "Back in the Land of Waves, when he was fighting in the ice and snow..." she swallowed. "I, I tried to save him, but I was… too late." She looked at Sasuke, willing him to give her any sign of compassion or condemnation, anything to put her out of the misery of _not knowing_ , but his gaze was inscrutable. "Kakashi-sensei, he, he _did_ something to Naruto. It brought him back, but sometimes it's almost as if…" She stopped. "I don't know, Sasuke. I just don't know anymore."

Sasuke turned his head to stare at the spot where Naruto had disappeared into the foliage. "We're going to have to protect him," he said at last. "He's never going to take care of himself over others, no matter what we say, and that makes it our responsibility – even if it means doing something he would never approve of." His eyes narrowed. "You understand, don't you, Sakura? Miracles only happen once."

Sakura nodded mutely. Somehow, even hearing him say that much, just the fact that he now _knew_ helped more than anything else in the world ever could. She brushed against his hand, and to her faint relief it did not shrink back from her touch. "We'll do it together," she whispered.

One way or another, they would get through it all.

A moment later Naruto stepped out of the bushes, relief giving way to confusion as his eyes fell upon their hands.

"Uh… did I miss something while I was gone?"

* * *

Naruto's newly created clone leaped from tree to tree at high speed, considerably emboldened by the knowledge that his body could not truly die. Still, shadow clones did not always disappear immediately, and the sensation of being bodily torn asunder never grew any more pleasant – never mind being swallowed whole by a giant snake and slowly digested. In fact, since the snake's body would be filled with hostile chakra, would his mind even be able to return to his original body at all? Would he disappear, or would he be trapped there forever, dying over and over for however long the snake lived?

The memories of another shadow clone struck him, and Naruto came to a halt upon a withered tree stump. It seemed the other clone had come across the Leaf team they met earlier that day and immediately dispelled itself – a decision Naruto could not fault. He did _not_ like the look in that Hyūga's eyes, and that other genin Lee just seemed crazy. His thoughts were disturbed a second later when his stump started rumbling and a dozen mutant chakra-voles burst forth, snapping at his feet even as he launched himself into the air once more. He glued his feet to the bark of the nearest tree, hoping to catch his breath, only to leap away again in panic as a nearby plant began to vomit poisonous spores.

 _I don't care what Sakura says,_ he thought to himself, as he swore to never again set foot outside his apartment if he made it out of here alive. _There's no way humans could've ever lived in a place like this, absolutely no way!_

He ran a while further, this time making sure to stick to the branches where he had relatively clear sight of the dense forest all around him, when a faint sound made him stop dead in his tracks. It was the one sound more frightening than even the worst plants and monsters here could make: That of Human speech. He slowly edged around the main body of his tree, clinging to the bark with his feet even as he used the transformation technique to bend the light around himself to blend in with the forest even further. Down far below, hidden among the foliage, two opposing groups of ninjas faced off.

"Gaara, listen," said one. "There is no point in taking this any further: Let's just grab their scroll and go."

"Be quiet, Kankuro." The monotone voice was almost dead of emotion. "I have heard enough of you."

Naruto stared at the scene in shock. A young red-headed sand ninja with a large gourd on his back stood amidst a sea of scattered needles, staring down a team of rain ninjas with his arms crossed. The lead Rain ninja was on his knees, clutching his chest and trembling while the other two watched in horror.

"Please, you can have our scroll," one of the Rain ninjas begged. "Just let us go!"

"That is not how we do things in the Hidden Sand," said the boy, Gaara. "The penalty for attacking the Kazekage's children is death – that is what happens when you attack someone stronger than you."

"Be reasonable, Gaara," the eldest sibling chided. Her sandy blond hair was tied up in no less than four pony tails, and just like the other Sand ninjas she was clad in black and carried a strange object on her back. "Remember what that examiner said? Intentional killing during the exam will not be tolerated."

"Take a good look around," said Gaara. Focusing chakra to his eyes, Naruto could barely make out a cloud of what looked like tiny dust specks surrounding the ninjas below him. "All around us my sand has saturated this area with chakra, forming a sphere that even the Leaf Byakugan cannot penetrate." His eyes were still staring dead ahead, never leaving his beaten opponents. "Furthermore, you are minor ninjas of the Hidden Rain, a land that has been ravaged by the great powers during the Wars with no consequence or threat of retribution. No one will ever know or care to know what happened here."

Suddenly the other two Rain ninja dropped to their knees as well, and the lead ninja started coughing up blood. Finally Naruto understood what was happening: Down their mouths and into their nostrils sand was being forced, eroding their lungs from the inside out. Motes of sand swarmed around them like a swarm of angry bees; stinging their eyes and bursting ear drums while slowly shaving off their skin. Their cries of agony and terror were smothered by wet and bloody coughs.

"Sorry, I tried," the girl said with a wave of her hand, sounding not very apologetic at all. "Bye, bye."

More sand fell upon them, crushing them, burying them, until finally the movement stopped. The sand retreated back to Gaara's gourd, filling it anew. Of the Rain ninjas little was left but bloody bones.

The middle child, Kankuro, walked up to where their corpses lay and picked up the fallen scroll. "It's another Earth scroll," he grumbled. "Just our luck. Now we're gonna have to fight a whole other team as well."

"Cease your whining, Kankuro, it is disgraceful." Gaara placed two fingers on his left eye and paused as if in thought. "My third eye has already located another team: Three Leaf ninjas and a dog. This will not take long." He paused, as if realizing something. "And it seems I have missed one other thing…"

From out of nowhere a torrent of sand burst up around Naruto and crushed him instantly. He nearly fell off his branch as the forest shifted around him, and he flailed his arms to keep his balance. He knew right away which team Gaara meant, for it was one which he had been spying on for the past several minutes.

"Hey! Did you guys hear that?" That brash voice could only be Inuzuka Kiba, and beside him was –

"It's- it's N-Naruto-kun, over there." _Hinata._

A cloud of insects swarmed towards Naruto, and he was forced to drop down to the clearing where Team Eight stood waiting. Still more insects swarmed out of Shino's long sleeves and hood as he prepared for a fight, and while Hinato looked horrified at the prospect of fighting Naruto, Kiba grinned with savage glee. "Lucky! We get to beat up on the biggest loser in the exam. This'll be swift and sweet."

"Hold on," cried Naruto, "I'm not here to – ah!" He threw himself sideways as Kiba lunged for him, swiping at him with feral strength and speed. "I just wanna-!" A white dog appeared behind him, growling and snapping at his leg. Naruto leaped away at the last second and reached the nearest tree, running up the surface at breakneck speed before finally turning around to stare down at his opponents.

"Hah, he's a slippery little runt," Kiba said with a vicious grin. "This is gonna be fun. Hinata, use your Byakugan to keep an eye out for Sasuke, he's gotta be around here somewhere. Shino, watch my back!"

"I just wanna talk!" Naruto tried again. "There's a team of Sand ninjas heading this way, and they're killing anyone they come across. You gotta get away from here before it's too late!"

Hinata and Shino looked at each other uncertainly, but Kiba's expression only twisted into one of even greater fury. "Trying to talk your way out of this? You think you're so clever, don't you – like we're dumb enough to believe anything you say!" He reached in his pouch and drew forth two dark pills, one of which he fed to his dog while he swallowed the other himself. Soon after, the two began _changing:_ His dog's muscles shuddered and its fur turned crimson as it transformed into a monstrous hound. At the same time Kiba's teeth grew into fangs, his fingernails extended into claws and the look in his eyes lost all semblance of reason. Master and beast were closer than ever, now.

"You gotta listen to me," Naruto cried desperately, even as he struggled to find the right words to convince them. "Hinata-chan, tell him! Tell him I wouldn't lie about something like this!" But even as he spoke those words, he remembered that he had suggested to Sasuke to do exactly that…

Hinata stared at her feet. "I… Kiba-kun, I don't think-" Her pale eyes widened further. "W-wait, something is-"

"Enough!" cried Kiba. " _Enough talking!_ " Both he and his hound made to charge Naruto when a torrent of sand crashed into the ground between them, bringing them to a halt. "What the – what is this?"

A single eye emerged from the swirling pile of sand and floated in mid-air, staring directly at Kiba. The sand rose up to form a socket around the eye, and then the socket became a head and shoulders. Arms and legs followed underneath, and at last Gaara's form stood whole before them – right in the middle of the group of hostile ninjas as though he did not have a care in the world.

It took only a second for Kiba's instincts to take over, and his clawed fist blurred and struck out at Gaara, exploding straight through the Sand ninja's chest in a shower of sand. "What the hell?"

The sand closed around Kiba's arm and the feral boy _howled_ in pain as his arm was slowly crushed to a pulp. His monstrous hound snarled and lunged at the sand creature, but it was struck in the head and sent sprawling. The next moment Hinata was standing there, striking the flat of her palm against the sand and scattering it over the ground. Kiba fell to his knees, clutching his wounded arm and moaning in pain as she bent over him.

"K-Kiba-kun, are you-"

The sand rose up again, and this time Hinata was its target, grabbing her in a giant fist and slamming her into a humongous oak tree. A tiny gasp of pain escaped from her lips, and then her head slumped over, a stream of blood trickling from her mouth.

"Hinata-chan!" Naruto rushed to the scene, body-flickering next to Hinata and clawing at the sand with his bare hands, but it was like trying to clutch water. The sand seeped between his fingers, crawling over her skin as though he was not there. He tried to cover her eyes with his thumbs, but the sand moved up to her ears and he had to plug them with his pinkies, and then the sand was forcing its way into her nose and mouth and there was nothing he could do to stop her from choking to death on the sand.

It was just as he had foreseen – He had _known_ something like this might happen and he had done _nothing_ about it; Hinata was dying right in front of him and there was nothing he could do. Her fair skin was cracking from the sand's pressure, blood trickled down her cheeks and it was all his fault…

There was a buzzing sound in Naruto's ears as a black cloud descended on Hinata, covering her like a thick blanket. The insects were on the sand, _draining_ it somehow, and the sand fell apart and crumbled onto the ground. Hinata dropped from the tree and fell into his arms, lighter than Tazuna had been.

Naruto turned around and found himself staring at Shino's back. The boy's arms were outstretched and from his long sleeves and hood a vast swarm of insects poured forth, buzzing angrily. In front of him, Gaara's baleful eye hovered in the air, a new mass of sand already gathering as it stared at them both with murderous intent.

"Go," said Shino.

Naruto hesitated. "But…"

"In times of conflict, individuals must band together for the good of the whole – that is what the word 'friend' means, remember? You need not be concerned about me. Why's that? Because I am-"

A lance of sand shot out and burst straight through Shino's skull, blasting out the back of his head and crashing against the tree behind Naruto. Shino's body staggered, drooped, and fell apart: His skin cracked and pulsed as endless bugs burst forth from hidden cysts, his very flesh and clothes _changing_ and transforming into a legion of furious and vengeful insects that descended upon the cloud of sand.

Still holding onto Hinata, Naruto joined up with Kiba, and they ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

 _A monster… I am lost in a forest of monsters…_

* * *

"We gotta get out of here!" cried Naruto, his body still trembling from the remembered exertion. "We've got to quit while we still can – this is just too dangerous!" Somewhere out there, his clone and Kiba were still running with Hinata in his arms. He could only hope that they had found help by now.

Sasuke looked unconvinced. "We always knew this exam was going to be dangerous. The last round was fine and the next may be as well. If it is only the one lunatic and we know where he is, we can simply-"

"Oh, gimme a break! You only care about getting more combat experience for yourself, same as ever." Naruto was pacing furiously within the cramped hollow beneath the roots of a gigantic tree under which they hid. After reporting on what his clone had seen, they had finally come to the conclusion that being hidden from enemy ninjas was more important than keeping away from the local plants and animals.

"Sasuke is not all wrong," Sakura said softly. She was peering out from between the dangling roots of the great tree, on the lookout for any sign of hostiles. "Right now we are closer to the central tower than to the Forest's boundaries, so turning back is not much safer. How about this: You keep scouting ahead with your shadow clones while we head straight for the tower. If we discover some weak opponents we'll fight them, but if there's any sign of that Sand ninja we open our own scroll and alert the proctors."

Neither of them were quite satisfied with that plan, but Naruto had to admit it was a reasonable compromise.

"Fine," Sasuke said eventually. "Let's go." Naruto brushed aside the curtain of dangling roots as he followed him out into the quiet glade, grateful for the scattered beams of sunlight which poured down from cracks in the forest canopy high above them. All around them leaves and plants were softly brushing against each other, whispering with what Naruto could only hope was the wind.

Sakura followed after them, squinting against the light. "It's hard to see from here, but judging from the position of the sun, the central tower should be right over there. It shouldn't take us too long at top speed, but we might need to go around any areas of dense vegetation so that we -"

The foliage behind them shattered into a thousand broken branches as something green came _hurtling_ at them like a massive rolling boulder and the team _leaped_

 _Stop jump up down what left right is halt going give up on?_

Naruto's body twitched and flailed as it tried to move in a dozen directions at once, and then the green sphere smashed into the earth like a meteor and sent Naruto flying into the air, falling and bounding over the ground before coming to a halt with pain flaring in his limbs and chest. Through his dazed eyes the glade was a blur: The green shape which now resembled Chōji was chasing after Sakura who dodged his attacks with increasing desperation while Sasuke was just _standing_ there, and then Chōji's arm extended impossibly far and slammed straight into her chest.

As Sakura flew backwards and crashed into the ground, Naruto saw that a black shadow had grabbed hold of Sasuke's feet, but that could not be right because shadows were only an absence of light and an absence of something could not grab people – which meant it was a Yin-release chakra technique and Naruto should _do_ something about that but he could not quite remember –

 _Stop hold yield pause down go stand fall jump halt what_

The shadow extended from Sasuke's feet to grab Naruto as well, and that was when he remembered that _Shadow Paralysis_ was a Nara Clan technique; they were up against Shikamaru's team but it was too late to do anything about it. The shadow crawled up Naruto's spine like icy fingers, freezing his limbs in place while Chōji grabbed hold of Sakura's arms and pressed her face into the ground.

In front of them the bushes slowly parted as the leader behind this attack was finally revealed. Moving with deliberate slowness, Ino promenaded into the forest glade, and finished by twirling around with a flourish while her purple skirt and long blond hair flowed and danced along with the wind.

"Ta-da! Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you, boys and forehead-girls?" Ino grinned widely, as though she was completely oblivious to the fact that they were in a place called the Forest of Death.

"Ino?" Sakura choked out, as she struggled against the considerable weight of Chōji virtually sitting on top of her. "How? Your mind sensing technique doesn't–"

"–have enough range to track you all over the forest?" Ino finished cheerfully. "No. But I can _read minds_ , Sakura darling, and _your_ oversized brain is as open to me as those abysmal books of yours." She bent over and flicked Sakura's forehead with her finger, still grinning. "I already skimmed your thoughts at the start of the test, so I knew which scroll you had and what your starting position would be. From there it was just a matter of using my sensing ability to stalk you while avoiding those pesky shadow clones – and let me tell you, your Naruto's chakra lights up the place like a bonfire. So then we waited for a chance to set up the perfect ambush, and _bam,_ wepass the round! Brilliant plan, don't you think?"

"All of that was _my_ idea," Shikamaru protested from his hiding spot in the foliage. Naruto could almost tell his location from the direction of his voice, now that Ino was no longer messing with his head. He tried to reach his pouch for a flash tag or form a hand seal, to do _anything_ , but he was frozen in place.

"Yes," said Ino, "but _I_ told you to come up with it. It's called leadership,Shika."

"Just let it go, Shikamaru," Chōji sighed. "It's not worth it."

"And now to find out where you keep your scroll," Ino said with satisfaction. "Though, you're not going to make it easy for me now that you know what I'm doing, are you Sakura? No, that's okay, I have other options." She strolled up to where Sasuke stood frozen, and pulled his lower lip down with one finger. "What do you say, Sasuke-kun? Will you tell me where the scroll is? Of course, you could always try and persuade me to let you keep it…" Her finger travelled down his lips to his chest and further below.

"For goodness sake Ino," Shikamaru said with a groan. "Just get on with the plan! I can't keep this technique up forever, you know."

"Yes, yes." Ino rolled her eyes theatrically, and gave Sasuke a last lingering look before moving on. She stopped in front of Naruto, standing far too close for comfort. "Fine, I'll just take the knowledge from the dim one like we planned." She began raising one hand towards Naruto's forehead, but stopped mid-movement. Her hand stayed there and hovered, as though she had reached an invisible wall.

Chōji frowned. "What is it, Ino?"

"I don't…" She inched her hand towards Naruto again, then drew it back as if she had burned herself on something hot. "I can't…" Her eyes were vacant, mesmerized by some unseen wonder, and her lips moved as though singing a silent song. "It's… terrible, and so beautiful, but I don't _understand_ …"

"Oh, for the love of…" Shikamaru groaned loudly. "You can admire his chakra later. We need to get the scroll and get out of here, before anyone notices us."

"Right," said Ino, still staring at Naruto with horrified fascination. "Right… I should probably…" Naruto suppressed his chakra as best he could, and this time when she reached for his forehead she managed to come close enough to touch him. "Okay," she said, swallowing. "I'll just, quickly…"

Naruto flared his chakra.

Ino's mouth drooped open. For a second she stood there unmoving, unable to comprehend what was happening to her. Then she _screamed_. She clutched her fingers as though they were on fire, and she began rolling over the grass, her screams unlike anything human: The sound was _torn_ from her lungs like steam from a broken pipe, ragged and hot and tearing her lungs asunder with their fury.

" _Ino!_ " Chōji half rose to help her, and that was all the opening Sakura needed: She elbowed him in the face, then turned and threw him on his back. Her hands formed a seal and lashed out with a watery whip at the foliage behind Naruto, eliciting a strangled scream. Suddenly the shadows withdrew and they were free again: Sasuke flicked through a different seal and lighting darted from his fingertips, striking Chōji in the chest and sending him sprawling onto the grass along with the now unconscious Ino. Foul smelling smoke arose from where the lightning burnt Chōji's clothes and flesh, as Sakura dragged Shikamaru into the clearing with her watery tendril and dumped him alongside the others.

Team Seven stood there for a moment, taking in the sight of their defeated enemies as their breathing slowly returned to normal. Sasuke was the first to break the silence. "Well done there, Sakura. Good call to target Shikamaru first. Now, Naruto, would you mind explaining what the hell that was?"

"I inherited a special kind of chakra from my clan," Naruto replied carefully. It was not strictly speaking a lie. "Now are you going to tell us what is up with your Sharingan, or what really happened to your clan?"

"No," said Sasuke. "I suppose you can keep your secrets if I hold onto mine." He nudged the fallen Shikamaru with his toe. "What're we going to do with these guys?"

"We'll place them in the hollow until the Anbu show up to take them to the hospital," said Sakura. "If it was safe for us, it should be safe enough for them. I'll look them over with my medical ninjutsu, but there's not much else we can do." She frowned as she kneeled down and set to work on checking Chōji and Ino. "You know, if I had any important secrets, I would want to share them with my friends."

"If you knew any important secrets, you might think differently," Sasuke said as he collected the Earth scroll from Shikamaru's pouch. "I guess we just need to wrap up here, and then we're good to go."

A long shadow passed over the three of them, and the team stared up in bewilderment, blinking against the sun's rays as they looked to see what kind of cloud could cast a shadow like that.

Flying high enough to rise above even the giant trees of the eldritch forest, a platform made entirely out of sand was racing towards the tower in the centre. On top of the platform, three Sand ninjas stood tall, surfing through the clouds as though the whole world belonged to them.


	27. Destiny and Defeat

They passed underneath the arch of the great gate leading into the forbidding, multi-tiered tower that awaited them. The gate led to a high and narrow hall with a second gate close behind, which was locked with no discernible means of opening it. The only other visible item in the room was an ancient calligraphy scroll, which hung on the wall above the gate and bore a cryptic text.

"If you do not possess heaven, gain knowledge and be prepared. If you do not possess earth, run through the fields and seek strength. If you possess both heaven and earth, paths that were once dangerous are now benign." Sakura frowned in thought. "I think it's telling us to open the scrolls."

Gingerly, Naruto unfolded the earth scroll, while Sasuke did the same with the heaven scroll. If they all failed now because they misinterpreted some stupid cryptic text… Naruto could just imagine some bearded old man telling them that _noooo_ , the text told them to skip around in the field until they tripped over a hidden lever; who said anything about scrolls?

Naruto flinched as a sudden eruption of air revealed a man in front of them. He would have looked like a perfectly ordinary looking chūnin, except for the horizontal scar running across his face and the fact that he sat in a chair with large wheels on the sides.

"Hello," he said. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto stumbled backwards in shock, faced with the man who had been crippled partly because of his naivety. "What? But… how?"

"The Heaven and Earth scrolls each carry the seal for the summoning technique," Iruka explained with a laugh. "It is traditional for the previous generation of chūnin to greet the new contestants after they pass the second round, and I volunteered to-"

Naruto gaped. "You can _teleport_ people with a scroll? Why don't we all have those?" If Mizuki-sensei had carried a scroll like that during his doomed mission, or if Kakashi-sensei had one when his childhood friends were in trouble or even during the Land of Waves mission, it would have changed everything. And if that crazy examiner lady had just _told_ them what the scrolls were for instead of saying they should open them to signal surrender, Naruto could have used it to summon help when Gaara was trying to kill everyone.

"It costs an enormous amount of chakra to summon people rather than spirits, so scrolls like that are not normally available," Iruka explained. He seemed more amused by Naruto's reaction than anything else. "That's why during the chūnin exams, for the sake of upholding our most sacred traditions, the Hokage orders the Village's most powerful summoners to inscribe their technique into those scrolls."

 _Tradition_. Well, of course it had to be something stupid like that – what else? Though, if the range was limited by the amount of chakra that was put into it, a scroll like that still might not have saved everyone, Naruto reflected.

Sakura meanwhile was politely inquiring into how Iruka-sensei was doing, which their former teacher waved off. "I'm fine, really. It's amazing, how much more attention the class pays to me now that I have a chair like this. I should have faked an injury years ago, haha!"

"Something has happened in the forest," Sasuke said in a tone that instantly schooled Iruka's features. "There were three ninjas from the Hidden Sand, heirs to the Kazekage. Naruto saw the youngest of them execute three Rain ninjas in cold blood, using a sand technique to obscure the Byakugan's vision."

Iruka sent a doubtful glance in Naruto's direction. "Are you sure? Is it possible that you misheard, or perhaps misunderstood something? After all, it is easy to get confused in the midst of battle…"

Naruto felt heat rush to his face as his muscles tensed, but Sasuke didn't give him the chance to react. "Naruto would not be saying it if he weren't certain," he said coolly. "He understands the significance of this as well as you."

"Right," said Iruka, rubbing his forehead. "Of course. I'll pass it over to Ibiki, who'll inform the Hokage. But if this was done by the Kazekage's own children, and there's no evidence of what happened…" He raised his hands in a warding gesture. "I'm not saying they won't believe you, Naruto, but they might _pretend_ not to. Perhaps… perhaps it would be best if you don't speak of this to anyone else, for now."

After a rushed conclusion of the greeting ceremony, the team passed through the gate and into the great hall where they were told to wait for the other teams to arrive. An overhanging balcony lined the walls in a semi-circle, while a colossal statue of two hands forming the tiger seal loomed over them at the far end of the room. Not even the tip of those stone fingers were tall enough to reach the roof, which was so high it was scarcely even visible in the flickering torchlight.

It did not take long for them to spot the Sand ninjas, which were huddled in a corner of the hall, together with a dangerous-looking man in a turban who could only be their teacher. It took even less time to decide to stay as far away from them as possible.

"I guess we should head for the pantry area to see if we can get some free food," said Naruto. "Or wait: The medics are supposed to be at the top of the tower, right? I'm gonna go see if the Anbu brought Hinata there yet, if that's okay with you guys." The last he remembered from his clone was handing her over to Kiba, who had insisted he could carry her faster as he leaped away on all fours.

"All right," said Sakura. "In that case, we'll – _aaahh!_ " A shadow had jumped onto Sakura's back, and she made a desperate effort to throw it off, only for the figure to leap back and land lightly on its feet.

"Hah! Not, _hah_ , not bad, forehead girl." Ino sounded as though she had tried to cast the Grand Fireball technique while inhaling instead of exhaling, and her teammates who were close behind did not look to be in much better shape. Chōji had a bloody nose and his scorched clothes still carried a foul scent, while Shikamaru looked like he had tried to hang himself and was now fervently wishing he had succeeded.

"Are you _mad_?" Sakura had grabbed a kunai with lethal intent and was only now stowing it away. "What were you thinking, surprising a ninja from behind like that? And why are you not in the hospital? And – and how can you _possibly_ be here before us?"

Ino smiled the sure-fire grin of someone who might have lost her voice, but certainly not her capacity to leave others speechless. "This, _hah_ – is nothing. Ninjas should always, _hah_ , hrm, always…" She tried to continue, but her words were lost in a fit of coughing. "Anbu… rghh! Gah!"

"For the love of…" Shikamaru motioned for her to stay silent. "What Ino is trying to say is, after you guys left we were picked up by the Anbu, who brought us straight to this place. One of them already checked us over, said we're fine as long as Ino does not talk for at least a few days." He glanced in her direction, as if to say that the Anbu might as well have said 'as long as up is down and true is false'.

"I think I like her better this way," Chōji said in between mouthfuls from a bag that he must have raided from the pantry. "I vote we keep her like this." This earned him a death glare from Ino, which he was only too happy to pretend not to notice.

"What a pain…" Shikamaru sighed deeply. "I gotta hand it to you though, Naruto: I never would've guessed you could turn Ino's technique on her like that. I thought your chakra control would be too poor for that, but I guess you guys just have more battle experience than us." At this point Ino's gaze settled on Naruto with a perfectly neutral, innocuous look that instantly made him want to flee the Land of Fire.

"Something happened in the forest," said Sasuke, blithely ignoring the on-going conversation as he began his explanation of what happened. Technically, nobody had told _him_ to stay quiet about it, Naruto reflected. With an unusually serious expression on her face, Ino formed the hand signs for her technique, and Naruto winced as her thoughts wormed their way into his head once again.

" _I'll let daddy know what happened,"_ she intoned in his head. _"He works for Ibiki, so he will know what to do. Shika and Chōji, you do the same with your dads: If it's coming from three different people, they won't be able to ignore us."_ A part of Naruto wanted to see if he could shut Ino out of his head, but the part of him that was not insane decided not to try. " _For now, let's all just stay far away from those Sand ninjas."_

The group turned as they became aware of an increase in the general commotion around them: All around the hall, chūnin were buzzing about as more genin trickled into the room. Could it be that the second stage of the exam had ended already? He saw several of the teachers show up as well, including Kakashi, though they were keeping their distance for now. Aside from the Sand ninjas, Naruto recognized the information card-shark Kabuto and his team, which surprised him – Naruto was sure the older Leaf ninja would have forfeited by now to continue his con game. Then there was the Hyūga's team of course, and… Kiba? Why was the feral ninja not with Hinata in the hospital? That was strange.

The chūnin and jōnin lined up along the walls of the room, as though waiting for something to happen, and that was when he saw them: The barest hints of movement in the corner of his eye, flickering in and out of existence in tandem with the uncertain torchlight. All along the walls, on top of the balconies and even on the ceiling, there were _shadows_. Men and women in black cloaks, with no discernible features but for the white masks they wore, which were made to look like animal faces.

The main gates to the tower blasted open, and yet more ninjas poured into the room, lining up on either side of the door and crouching in deference. At last the one they were waiting for entered the hall, advancing with swift and sturdy strides despite his advanced age, his white robes of office trailing behind him as he went.

Hushed whispers rose up from the assembled genin. " _Is that him?" "It can't be him, he looks so old." "He was retired until the Fourth's death – they say he was already Hokage during the First War." "The most powerful of the Five Kage…"_ _"The only ninja who knows every Leaf technique…" "The Professor…"_

Sarutobi Hiruzen, Third Hokage and leader of the Village hidden in the Leaves, strode up to the assembled genin with wide open arms and a smile on his lips. "Why, what a commotion for one tired old man. You would almost think you were here for me, instead of the other way around!" He chuckled at his own jape as two more shadows fell in behind him. To his right stood Morino Ibiki, the head of the Torture and Interrogation unit, head of Intelligence and de facto head of the Anbu. To his left stood Mitarashi Anko, former student of the Snake Sannin Orochimaru, known all around the Village to be dangerously mad.

The gates of the tower closed shut behind them.

"First of all, congratulations to those of you who have passed the second test," the Hokage said, gesturing with his pipe as he addressed the group. "More importantly, I feel I owe you all an explanation regarding the true purpose of this exam, and the reason it is held together with our allied nations." The genin shot uncertain glances at each other, but none of them even dared to whisper now. "You will have heard it is done in order to foster good relations with our neighbours, but do not let that reason deceive you. The fact of the matter is that the chūnin exams are an extension of war through other means." This time there _were_ hushed whispers, but they died almost instantly.

The Hokage took a long drag from his pipe and exhaled smoke, his eyes distant. "If you look back through our long and noble history, you will find that the past is filled with violent conflict between countries that we now consider to be close allies. Whenever countries perceived an imbalance in military strength, the temptation arose for the stronger of them to capitalize on their dominance and rise in power through military means. That is why events such as the chūnin exams were organized: In order to allow countries, through minimal violence, to measure their respective strength and thus prevent war. Additionally-"

"What are you _talking_ about?" One of the genin had broken rank and stepped forward, facing the Hokage. It was Kiba. "Allied countries? Measuring strength? Who the hell cares about any of that stuff. Hinata almost died out there just now! You sent us all into a giant forest filled with monsters and enemy ninjas, and for what? So you could play at _politics?_ " Everyone stared at him in shock.

"Down, boy," Morino Ibiki said warningly. "That's the Hokage you're talking to."

The Third Hokage took his pipe from his mouth and looked at Kiba severely. "Your concern for your friend does you credit, young genin. However, in order to prevent war, it is sometimes necessary to make certain sacrifices. We all greatly appreciate you and your brave friend's willingness to walk this dangerous path for the sake of our Village-"

" _Willingness to-_ " Kiba stared at the Hokage in blind rage. "Why don't you go fu-"

Suddenly Anko's fist was in his stomach, and he crumpled over with a wheezing gasp of pain. She grabbed hold of his wounded arm and twisted it viciously, forcing out a strangled scream. "Ibiki told you to _heel,_ boy! Do I need to teach you a few lessons in respect?"

"Anko! Let him go." The Hokage looked at her with an expression of anger and disappointment. "The boy is clearly injured and upset for his friend – go escort him to the hospital. We'll talk about this later."

The crazy examiner did as she was told, seeming none too bothered about the chastisement. As they watched her drag the feral ninja up the stairs, Naruto wondered if anyone would say anything if they just never saw Kiba again after this, or if they would not speak of him anymore as was the case with Mizuki-sensei. Naruto did not know if he himself would dare to say anything in that case – but he now knew that Kiba _would_.

 _Dogs are supposed to be loyal creatures, after all…_

The Third Hokage shook his head wearily. "What a way to start the exams. I imagine none of you younglings will want to hear me lecture you on history after that display. I will leave the rest up to you then, Gekkō Hayate." He turned and left through the gates, Morino Ibiki following close behind.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." From the ranks of assembled ninja, a greasy-haired man who looked like he had not slept in years stepped forward. "I am the examiner for the third round. As the Hokage explained, the final round is a one-on-one ninja tournament meant to display our military strength to other countries. However-" A sudden coughing fit forced him to stop talking. When he lowered his hand, Naruto thought he saw something glisten red. "However… before that we need to hold some, ah, preliminary rounds, to reduce the numbers, since the attendees will have limited time available." He held up a plain wooden box. "I wrote your names on notes and put them in here, so uhm, I guess I'll just take two random ones out each time and you can fight each other until we're down to eight."

Naruto stared at the man as he talked, a growing sense of wrongness pervading him. There was something incredibly _off_ about hearing a process that could decide his life or death described in such a casual way, especially coming from someone who looked like he was about to die himself. Naruto glanced around nervously. If he was forced to fight with that monster from the Sand… but no, he could always just forfeit. Sasuke had been right: There was no good reason not to at least wait and see what came next.

The examiner coughed again, and reached into the box with a glistening hand. "Uhm, first match. Hyūga Neji, versus…" He reached in again, still coughing. "Hyūga Hinata."

Well, that was clearly a mistake. Obviously, someone had neglected to notify this sick and dying man that Hinata's team had dropped out of the exam.

"To think that I would get to face our very heiress – it seems the fates smile upon me." Hyūga Neji stepped out into the centre of the room, his fists clenched. "Well? Where is she? Don't tell me the heir to Konoha's most noble clan is too fearful to fight a mere _branch member_ of the house."

Hinata stepped out to face him.

Naruto twisted around, looking for Kiba, but as he was absent he rounded on Shino instead. "You!" He grabbed the hooded boy by the collar and drew him in close. "What the _hell_ is Hinata-chan doing here? You guys were supposed to get her to _safety_ , not drag her along with you to the next round!"

"P-please don't be mad at him, Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly. "I asked… I begged Shino-kun and Kiba-kun to continue with the exam, since we already had our second scroll."

Naruto slowly let go of Shino's collar. "What? But why?"

"It's because, I am… the heir to, to lord Hiashi." Her back was turned to him, so Naruto could not see her injuries, but he remembered how the blood had run down her cheeks when the sand pressed in on her, and the image filled him with the same helpless terror as it had back then. "I was taught to always represent the, the Hyūga's strength, and to hold my head on high. That is why, in front of the person I admire, I cannot bear the thought of looking weak."

"That's why?" Naruto stared at her, uncomprehending. "Just because of something like that, because you don't wanna look weak to others, you're gonna risk your _life_?" He realized he was being a hypocrite, but he was too horrified to care. "Hinata-chan, I dunno what kind of things you were taught, but refusing to accept reality doesn't make you strong at all! If you're gonna throw your life away just because you're too stubborn to give up, well, there's nothing that could make me lose more respect for you!"

A small gasp escaped from Hinata's lips.

"How pathetic." Hyūga Neji crossed his arms and smiled viciously. "I understood that Lord Hiashi gifted you a pet hound and an insect when you became a genin, lady Hinata, but now it looks to me as though it were the other way around. Allowing a mere commoner to lecture you is disgraceful – but what is worse is that he's _right_." His sneer intensified. "An inability to accept your own destiny is the lowliest form of weakness there is. Every effort you make to deny your own inadequacy merely affirms it."

Naruto stepped forward. "You shut up _right now_ , or…" A firm hand on his shoulder held him back.

"You should not trouble yourself," said Shino. "Why is that? Because I do not believe Hinata is the one he truly despises." He turned to face Hyūga Neji. "I heard that your fathers were born just a few seconds apart. If we must all accept our own roles in life, then it must be truly unfortunate to find yourself forever resigned to a cage due to a mere accident of birth. Am I wrong?"

It happened so fast Naruto almost missed it: Neji's eyes flashed white and he lunged at Shino, who twirled around with a flash of metal as a deadly sickle-blade appeared in his hand, but then both froze mid-strike – their wrists held in an iron grip by a boy in green clothing with a bowl cut and thick black eye brows. Lee was standing between the two in a crouch, holding them back with arms outstretched as though he had always been there. _That's not possible! He was right behind me – he couldn't possibly have moved that fast without chakra!_ But even as Naruto thought that, the realization came to him that being unable to control chakra was not the same as being unable to _use_ it.

"Forgive me," said Lee, not looking at either of them. "But I would much prefer to resolve this matter within our team. For you see, the person who will finally show Neji to be wrong is _me_." He raised his head to face Naruto. "And you are wrong too, Naruto-kun… there is nothing more noble than defying one's own destiny! It is only when you believe in the impossible that you are able to make it a reality."

Neji ripped himself free, scowling. "What utter nonsense. It does not matter how much a hare dreams of soaring through the sky, it still cannot grow wings and fly!"

Naruto turned to look at Hinata, who still stood rooted to the spot, her eyes red from where the sand had tried to force its way into her skull.

"Hinata-chan…"

"Never mind," she said quietly, her lips trembling. "I – I should have… who was I trying to fool? I only made things difficult for everyone again." She turned and fled up the stairs, leaving Naruto behind.

 _Why? Why is it always like this? Even when I win, I still lose…_

"Winner by forfeit: Hyūga Neji." The examiner coughed wetly. "If we're done with all the distractions, I would like to continue with the preliminaries. Everyone who has forfeited should move out of the hall – uhm, or if you want to watch you can do it from the balconies I guess." He reached into the box and pulled out two more papers. "Next match: Tenten versus Kankuro."

That was one of the Sand Village ninjas: The middle child, if Naruto remembered correctly. As he and the others made their way up the stairs to the balcony, he sent a worried glance to the mousy girl, but she seemed oblivious.

"Hey kids." Their teacher greeted them with a jaunty wave. "Good to see you all made it in one piece."

"Kakashi," Sasuke said immediately. "Something has happened in the forest…"

Naruto left them to it, choosing instead to lean over the balcony in order to watch the coming fight below. Tenten was readying herself, having unfolded her giant scroll onto the stone floor and going over each of her seals while humming quietly to herself. There was no sign of her opponent.

"I will now explain the rules," announced the examiner. Naruto perked up. "Or actually, I'm not going to tell you all the rules, because you would just figure out ways around them." Naruto cursed inwardly. "But basically, don't leave the arena, don't use techniques until the match starts, and don't kill your opponent or I'll fail you no matter what." He glanced around the area, and coughed again. "Where is the second contestant? If he does not show up, I will have to grant the victory to, uhm, Tenten."

The room fell quiet as everyone looked around, except for the remaining Sand ninjas at the far end of the balcony who merely looked bored. Right when the examiner looked ready to call the match, smoke burst out in a cloud at the very top of the giant stone hands forming the tiger seal.

"Your long wait is over," a voice intoned solemnly. A figure in a black hooded outfit appeared on top of the statue's index finger, wearing purple face paint and carrying a foreign object on his back. "Behold, for I am Kankuro… of the Black Sand!"

A loud snort emanated from the other end of the balcony, where his older sister was trying not to laugh. " _Black_ sand? How do you imagine that's supposed to happen? Do you go streaking in the desert and leave your clothes behind?" She snorted again as Kankuro's face turned visibly red. "And I have to say: Imitating someone as vile as Sasori of the Red Sand, that's totally tasteless, even by your standards."

"Shut up! Every great Sand ninja has an epithet, and master Sasori is a true genius – he's just misunderstood!" The sand ninja leaped down from his perch at a strangely slow speed, and he touched the ground with barely a sound.

Hayate regarded him dispassionately. "If you are finally ready…" He coughed. "Begin."

Tenten launched a volley of kunai at him, watching like a hawk to see how he would dodge… which he did not do. The throwing knives veered aside at the last second, embedding themselves into the stone statue behind him.

"Hey, I didn't say I was ready yet!" Kankuro pulled on the cords wrapped around the object on his back, and it dropped to the ground with its black shroud hanging in tatters around it. What looked to be four wooden limbs stuck out at odd angles. "Oh well… I guess an artist should always be ready to perform."

"He's a _puppet master_ ," Sakura breathed into Naruto's ear. "Oh, this is so unfair. She should quit now."

Naruto would have asked what she meant, but there was no time: What looked like a wooden head emerged from underneath the tattered black cloth, and from its twisted mouth spat forth a hail of iron needles. Tenten immediately dodged to the side as she unfurled one of her scrolls, twin crossbows appearing in her hands and shooting bolts at Kankuro while she ran in a circle around him. In response he manoeuvred the cloaked puppet to intercept the bolts with its body, the dull impacts achieving nothing as it extended both arms and fired yet more needles from its open palms.

"How is he doing that?" Naruto whispered. "Controlling it, I mean." _Is it some kind of telekinesis? But then why would he use it to control a humanoid puppet, of all things?_

Sasuke appeared next to Naruto with his Sharingan active. "There are chakra strings extending from his fingers to the puppet: He shouldn't be able to move each individual joint like that though." He frowned in thought. "Either way, she should use a chakra weapon or technique to disrupt the effect somehow."

"Not likely," said Kakashi. "Her teacher, Maito Gai, does not really teach ninjutsu. This is all she has."

Down below, Tenten had discarded one of her crossbows in favour of a thick metal shield, and was using it to charge directly at Kankuro in an attempt to get close enough to land a hit. The puppet rushed at her in response, blades appearing along the lengths of its spindly wooden arms as it moved in for a lethal embrace. She dropped the other crossbow and pulled out a flail, spinning the ball and chain in deadly arcs around her. For a moment the two danced around each other, as Tenten blocked the incoming needles with her shield while the puppet drifted around her flail like a wraith. Then the ball and chain shot out, and the puppet was struck dead in its centre and shattered into a dozen pieces.

 _Yes!_

Each individual component of the puppet drifted up into the air, circling Tenten and clacking angrily, before unleashing a hailstorm of needles at her from every direction. She slammed her scroll onto the ground and an iron shell appeared around her, deflecting the projectiles just as Naruto had done in his fight with Haku. Then a canister shot out from the puppet's chest and landed next to the metal barrier, hissing with what Naruto could only guess was escaping gas.

"He uses poison too?" Shikamaru said, a bit further down the balcony. "This fight is as good as over."

"How can you be so sure?" asked Naruto. "I mean, I get that it looks bad, but she only has to land one good hit, right? She just has to surprise him somehow, and she can still win."

Shikamaru shook his head and sighed. "It doesn't matter what she _can_ do – it's just not gonna happen."

Tenten managed to overturn her cover and leap away from the gas, covering her mouth with her elbow pit while she assessed the situation. As the puppet parts recombined into a single puppet she unfolded her scroll once more, and this time she pulled out a rope with a large metal projectile attached. Naruto sucked in a breath when he saw the explosive tags covering it. He knew just how _expensive_ those things were – Naruto might have access to Sasuke's family fortune, but to her that one projectile might well represent her life's savings. She began twirling it in a wide vertical arc.

Kankuro drew his puppet in close and grinned. "Planning to destroy my precious _Crow_ , are you? I don't think so. Show me what you've got, panda girl!"

Tenten scowled and released the rope, hurling the projectile directly at Kankuro and his puppet. Right when it came within ten meters of him it veered away with a twitch of Kankuro's fingers. Then there was a clicking sound as the projectile split into pieces, a spring mechanism launching each explosive tag in a different direction and covering the entire area. Dropping the puppet in a panic, Kankuro sent each of the projectiles veering away from him in turn, but then the explosive tags detonated and the entire area went up in a roar of fire and smoke.

Tenten unfurled her giant scroll one more time, not even waiting to see the result of her last attack.

Slowly, a black silhouette reappeared within the smoke, stooped over and shaking slightly. "Hah… did you really believe that would work? It will take more than _that_ to-"

A massive siege crossbow appeared on the scroll in front of Tenten, and she instantly pulled the release. The giant missile soared through the air almost too fast to follow – too fast even for a jōnin to dodge – and went straight through her enemy, dragging him along with barbed hooks and spearing him to the far side wall. His body shuddered once and then drooped over, hanging from the spear like a slab of meat.

The entire room was deathly silent.

"Uhm," said the examiner. "I thought I said that killing your opponent was not allowed? I mean, I realize that accidents do happen, but that looks like lethal force to me."

"Ah… sorry," Tenten said, as she rubbed the back of her head embarrassedly. Her cheeks were flushed from exertion. "I may have overdone it a little bit. You're not going to fail me now, are you?"

Naruto looked up in a panic to see how the Sand Ninjas were reacting, but Gaara only stared at where Kankuro had fallen with an empty expression. Naruto followed his gaze, and stopped. Kankuro's arms had fallen off. His legs, his head… his entire body was falling apart while in the centre of the room, the form which he had thought to be the puppet was standing up, draped in a black and tattered cloak.

"Ahh, the classic puppet-body-replacement trick," Kankuro said, grinning. "That one _never_ gets old."

Eyes wide, Tenten threw more kunai at her enemy, but Kankuro pulled out a scroll of his own and manifested another black and cloaked form to intercept them, this one even larger than himself. He leaped onto his monstrous horned puppet, clutching to its back as it _flew_ at Tenten, who shrieked and tried to dodge only for the puppet's chest to open up and swallow her whole before closing again.

"You should have known better than to underestimate me!" He leaped off his puppet and landed on the floor without a sound. "For I am Kankuro: _The Scorpion's disciple!_ " Muffled screams emanated from the puppet, but they were almost immediately stifled as the mechanism locked up completely, and then only the clacking of wooden puppet parts and the whirring of its internal devices could be heard.

"Incidentally," said Kankuro, turning to face the examiner, "you said killing was not allowed, but how do you feel about maiming, poisoning, and permanent disfiguration? I'm just asking, because if you're against any of those things, you might want to call this match... right about now."

Gekkō Hayate took one look at the monstrous horned puppet, and nodded. "Winner: Kankuro."

Kankuro flicked his fingers and the puppet opened up, dumping its terrified cargo onto the floor.

"I forfeit!" Tenten scrambled away on all fours, kicking off the ground to get as far away from the puppet as possible. "I forfeit!" She ran towards the stairs and nearly tripped, crawling up the steps towards the balcony. She dashed blindly ahead and ran towards her team, tears streaming from her eyes, before finally collapsing in her teacher's arms. "I forfeit… I forfeit… I forfeit…"

"See?" Shikamaru sighed deeply. "I told you, didn't I? Against an opponent like that, you just can't win."

* * *

 **A/N:** That's right, it's back! And hopefully here to stay. I'm very sorry about the lack of updates - hopefully I still have a few readers left! If you're happy to see an update, write a review to let me know :)

By the way, I've recently completed another story on this website: Scar's Samsara. If you want to see more of my writing, go to my profile page and check it out!


	28. Resolve and Reality

"It's probably a good idea for us to mingle while they're clearing the weapons from the last match," said Sasuke. "Take some time to catch up with old friends… and future enemies."

Naruto was still watching Tenten regain her bearings. "I'm gonna go see if she's okay."

"An entire room filled with nobles and potential opponents, and you manage to find the one defeated commoner." Sasuke shook his head and smiled wryly. "See you later then, dropout."

Naruto considered sending clones out so he could talk to the others at the same time, but it was probably not a good idea to waste chakra when he might still have a match himself. He found Tenten sitting on the balcony with her team, eyes closed as she rested against the wall. She looked up when Naruto approached. "Come to make fun of me for running away and crying at the end, have you?"

"Uh, no," said Naruto. "I encountered the Sand ninjas in the Forest. I know how scary they can be."

Her gaze softened somewhat at hearing those words, but Hyūga Neji shook his head and sighed. "See, this is why Kunoichi should not be on the frontlines – they are far too emotionally fragile. I am sorry Tenten, but engaging that foe in combat was incredibly foolish. You should have forfeited immediately."

Naruto was about to angrily protest this, but then he remembered saying nearly the same thing to Hinata.

"You are wrong," Lee said instead. "Tenten, I thought your performance was most youthful! There is nothing more glorious than fighting on despite impossible odds, no matter how foolhardy it may seem!"

Tenten sighed and turned back to Naruto. "So, why did you say you were here?"

"I wanted to see if you, uhm, you know." Naruto fidgeted awkwardly. What was he supposed to say? _I feel guilty because I knew those Sand ninjas were crazy and I didn't tell you?_ "So uh, you like seals too?"

Her eyes lit up. "Oh, you're a seal user? They're just _fantastic_ , aren't they? You can store so many things in them, like food and weapons and scrolls with more weapons in them. I can only create basic seals so far, but if I could get a teacher to take me on as apprentice I just _know_ I could be a true seals mistress!"

Naruto weighted the pros and cons of asking her what she thought about the seals Jiraiya had inscribed upon his palms, but then the examiner spoke again: "Next match, Yakushi Kabuto versus Temari!"

They looked around and found the information card shark in the midst of a deep conversation with Sasuke, despite almost certainly not being a noble. "This should be interesting," Naruto muttered.

The more he thought about it, the more suspicious the older genin seemed: Failing the exam six times in a row while buying and selling information, and then suddenly breezing through the second round right when the class with all the clan heirs in it was participating? That just made it seem even more likely that he was here to spy on everybody else. But if that was the case then the Anbu and especially Morino Ibiki should have caught on by now… unless, of course, he was _their_ spy. Now there was a scary thought.

The Sand Kunoichi leaped down from the balcony, her black kimono and crimson obi flapping in the breeze. As she landed she shot her foe a cocky grin. "Do try to make this entertaining, will you?"

Her bespectacled opponent ran a hand through his grey hair and smiled ruefully. "I'll do my best. I have to admit my abilities are not very well suited to single combat, though."

The examiner slashed his hand downwards. "Begin."

"Well," said Temari, "that's too bad!" She grabbed the object on her back and swung it in one smooth motion, unleashing a hurricane that threw her opponent across the room like a ragdoll.

"What the hell?" said Naruto. "A fan? How the heck can she create that much wind with just a fan?"

"I've heard about this," Tenten said excitedly. "She's using a Gunsen war fan – Uchiha Madara was said to have one too, but nobody except the Sand Village knows the secret to making them. It's _beautiful_ …"

Its appearance was not what concerned Naruto. _She's clearly using it to amplify her Wind technique, but how's she doing it? Are there seals on that thing to generate more force or something? Could I do the same to amplify my earth techniques by throwing a rock, or is there more to it?_

On the far side of the arena, the older Leaf genin was standing up, his hand glowing faintly green as he moved it over his body where the wind-chakra had cut into his skin. A moment later he stood up and dashed towards his opponent, blue chakra-scalpels running along his hands, but the wind blew him back once more. The sand genin laughed mockingly at the sight.

"This is ridiculous," said Naruto, whose frustration was rising like a building pressure behind his eyes. "After all that talk at the academy of the importance of support roles and making sure to pick your battles, they just throw us in an arena and tell us to start fighting? How the heck is that a fair test of our abilities?"

"It's not," said Tenten. "They can talk about teamwork all they want, but in the end the only thing that counts is individual strength – that or being born into a noble clan and having skill at politics."

Down below, Kabuto had managed to raise a wall of earth to block Temari's attacks, and was now flicking through a number of hand seals. He recognized it as the same genjutsu technique that Sakura could also use. _Smart. She can deflect physical attacks, but she won't be able to see this one coming._

"Watch out!" Kankuro called from the balcony. "He's about to use genjutsu on you!"

Temari leaped away in a storm of wind, and then she was on top of her fan and floating _above_ Kabuto, who barely had time to look up before she called down a hurricane: The storm bit into him like a scythe, cutting his flesh while also crushing him down into the ground. She landed on top of him and slammed the end of her metal fan into his ribs with a sickening crunch.

Naruto winced, but could not turn away. That whole fight had been _wrong_ , in so many ways. "Hey examiner," he called out. "Her brother revealed Kabuto's technique just now! That's cheating, isn't it?"

Hayate looked doubtful. "Uhm, it's not like she asked for his help – anyone could just yell something out. The winner is Temari, but uh… I might disqualify the next person who does that." As the medics carried Kabuto away, he reached into his box once more. "Okay. Next match: Uzumaki Naruto versus Rock Lee."

Naruto and Lee stared at each other, wordlessly.

* * *

"I will admit that you are not the person I was hoping to fight," Lee said while adjusting the bindings on his wrists. "However, I am still more than happy to prove you wrong about the power of youth, Naruto-kun. I will show everyone here that there is no reality which hard work cannot overcome!"

"Okay," said Naruto. "Then I'll show everyone that there are pretty big advantages to not being crazy."

Yet even as he said that, his mind kept going back to the one time when he had seen Lee in action. _He moved in front of me so fast I couldn't even see him… even if he can't control his chakra, his ability to flare it is insane._ "If you want to overcome reality," he went on, "it helps if you try to understand it first."

Lee smiled at him, not seeming put off in the slightest. "You may be smarter than I am, Naruto-kun, but that won't help you. Intelligence is useless if you do not get the time to think."

He was not wrong: In any other situation, Naruto would have started the fight with shadow clones, but if Lee beat him before he could so much as cast a single technique… the first second of this fight would decide everything.

The examiner raised his hand. "Ready?" Rock Lee shifted into a sprinter's starting position, the muscles in his body visibly tensing. Naruto's body burst into life as he flared his chakra pre-emptively, his hands going through the Dog, Boar and Ram seals even as the examiner's hand slashed downwards. "Begin!"

A blast of chakra from his feet sent Naruto flying backwards as Rock Lee exploded towards him, his speed impossible to track but for Naruto's chakra-enhanced senses.

His technique completed just in time, and the world flared into light.

* * *

Gasps of shock and pain went up around the arena as the audience tried to make out what was happening while at the same time shielding their eyes from the searing light. Sasuke in particular let out a painful hiss as he covered his eyes with both hands. As for Sakura, she was too busy trying to figure out how Naruto managed to emit that much light to even try and watch the match.

Dog, Boar, and Ram, in that order: Those were the seals for the Transformation technique – Sakura could have remembered them in her sleep. But the Transformation technique was the simplest illusory technique there was, and definitely not something meant for offensive use. She remembered Naruto's surprise upon learning that it was considered Ninjutsu and not Genjutsu, and she had explained that the technique worked by bending light around the user rather than interfering with the enemy's chakra flow.

She sucked in a breath as the realization dawned. "Bending Light…"

She turned to stare at her Uchiha teammate, who was still cursing softly as he rubbed his eyes. He had been watching the battle with his Sharingan activated, she realized with a start. _Naruto… did you invent that technique just to fight Sasuke in the finals?_

When Sasuke managed to open his eyes again, his look of consternation turned into a wicked smile.

* * *

 _Success!_ Naruto grinned triumphantly, having forced his blinded opponent to a halt with his repurposed transformation technique, and having gained the breathing space he needed. Half a dozen newly formed shadow clones charged his opponent like a conquering army with the blazing sun behind their backs, yet somehow Lee did not seem fazed.

"Very impressive, Naruto-kun… however, I told you not to underestimate the power of hard work!"

As the shadow clones descended upon him, Rock Lee pulled his forehead protector down and around his eyes. His right foot struck a clone in the chest and dispelled it, while his left hand shot out and tossed one clone into another, dispelling both. A fourth clone made to strike him in the back, but Lee somehow twisted around in time to take it out and headed for the sixth. A handful of shuriken aimed at his feet forced him to leap back, and then Lee was chasing after the clone, who escaped using the body-flicker technique to buy some time.

Naruto staggered, as much from the sudden intake of memories as sheer disbelief at what he was seeing. _He's fighting based on sound alone! What kind of genin learns to fight while blind? How on earth is that a priority?_ Still, his opponent was hampered by his lack of vision, and if Lee was forced to rely on sound… He created six more clones, and they each pulled out an identical copy of the scroll he carried in his pouch, each of which manifested kunai with explosive tags from the exact same storage space.

Soon the arena resonated with the barrage of explosions that were thrown around Lee's feet, and with neither sight nor sound available to him, he had no choice but to run and hope to dodge them all.

* * *

"Ahhh, this is so unfair," cried Tenten. "Poor Lee. He just doesn't stand a chance against someone who has actual talent for ninjutsu. It doesn't matter how fast or strong he is if can't even find his opponent…"

Her sensei, Maito Gai, spoke without turning his eyes from the maelstrom of light and sound below. "You underestimate your teammate, Tenten. Lee has not lost yet! Go Lee, show them the fire of your youth!" Even so, Gai was gripping the railing furiously, as if it were all that prevented him from jumping into the arena and joining the fight himself.

Neji on the other hand looked entirely disinterested, slouched as he was against the balustrade with his back turned to the arena. Only the enlarged veins around his eyes betrayed his use of the Byakugan to watch the battle below. "He is right, you know. In fact, at this moment I would say that Lee is winning the fight. Watch carefully."

Tenten looked down, squinting against the continuous bursts of light. The whole area was pockmarked with craters from where explosive tags had torn apart the stone tiles. The dust that had been thrown up was compounded by smoke bombs which Lee had scattered around the area in an attempt to negate Naruto's advantage, reducing visibility to almost zero. Every now and then she picked out a flash of green as Lee sprinted around the battlefield at speeds almost too fast to follow, while his opponent tried to catch him with his clones and thrown weapons. At several points it seemed like Lee would be caught in the crossfire, but then he would wheel around instantly and zoom in to take out one of his attackers. So far the original Naruto seemed unhurt, but if she focused chakra to her eyes she could see that he was sweating profusely, while Lee showed no sign yet of slowing down.

Neji gestured at the scene behind him. "That Naruto has managed to secure an advantage, but he lacks the ability to capitalize on it. If he had properly trained his taijutsu he might have been able to defeat Lee with the edge he has, but as it is all Lee has to do is keep moving until his opponent runs out of chakra to create clones and use that light technique of his." He smiled ever so faintly. "Perhaps there is something to be said for hard work surpassing natural talent, after all."

Tenten stared at Neji as if he had grown a third ear, the battle momentarily forgotten.

* * *

This was, without a doubt, one of the most chaotic battles Rock Lee had ever fought.

The world was in darkness. Right from the start, he had been robbed of all vision, and then his hearing had been taken from him as well: His eyes still ached from the initial burst of light, and his ears rang with the constant barrage of explosions that were being sent his way. Only his chakra-enhanced sense of smell still allowed him to track his opponents, and even that was rapidly becoming harder with all the dust in the air. Between his speed and the smoke he had managed to avoid taking any major injuries so far, but it was just a matter of time before his foe got in a lucky hit, and then it would all be over.

 _No, that's not how Gai-sensei taught me to think!_ He remembered what he had told Naruto in the forest, the first time they had met. " _I_ _f I stopped doing something merely because I realized there was no reason to do it, then I could never trust myself to do anything ever again."_ For that was the true power of precommitment: By refusing to accept the impossible, the merely difficult became trivial.

In his mind, Neji cast him a look of withering contempt. _"What utter nonsense. It does not matter how much a hare dreams of soaring through the sky, it still cannot grow wings and fly."_

Lee shook his head. _No, you're wrong. I'll prove it to you, and Naruto-kun, and everyone here… Even if I lack the talent for ninjutsu or genjutsu, I will still win this battle. I have to believe that!_

His thoughts were interrupted by another series of explosions that forced him to dodge to the right. Based on his memorization of the arena's layout, this sent him straight towards the sculpture of the two hands forming the Tiger seal. Rather than stopping for even an instant, he ran up the side of the statue before kicking off it and continuing in the opposite direction.

Sensing two more opponents closing up on him, Rock Lee leaped straight into the air and landed in a crouch directly between the two of them. As his mighty roundhouse kick destroyed the clones, he realized that the intensity of Naruto's attacks had been decreasing. In fact, with those clones gone the attacks had stopped entirely. He chanced a moment to raise his forehead protector and see what was going on. At first he had to blink as his eyes stung from the smoke and the light of the arena's torches, but then a sudden gust of wind cleared the area and revealed his enemy at last.

He stared at the sight. "Naruto-kun… what do you think you are you doing?"

* * *

"Would you care for another one of these fine soldier pills, Naruto-sama?"

"Why thank you, Naruto-sama, I would indeed." Naruto took the foul tasting stimulant and swallowed it quickly. The two of them were sitting seiza on a traditional hanabi picnic mat that he had manifested from his scroll as they waited for their opponent to finally notice them.

He perked up. "Ah, Lee! Don't mind us, we were just passing the time while you kept yourself busy. Would you like to try a soldier pill? They allow you to fight for three days straight without food or rest, or at least that's what they say. They're _very_ premium… not that that's an issue when your teammate is one of the richest nobles in the Village, and your dad is one of the Sannin and a famous author besides. I like to think of money as just another bloodline-ability, really – just like good looks, smarts and talent."

Lee furrowed his thick eyebrows, making him look more homely than ever. "You will not manage to provoke me into attacking directly, Naruto-kun. I am not as stupid as you seem to think. The best way for me to win this battle is still through sheer attrition. Now, shall we continue the match?"

Naruto shrugged, making a show of nonchalance as he considered his next move. "I guess." He stood up, his other self taking position behind him. "Hey, you said you were gonna prove to everyone here that Neji is wrong and that hard work can overcome any obstacle, right? Did you really mean that?"

The boy in green nodded fiercely. "Of course! I mean everything I say."

"Then take a good look around you, Lee. You've proved nothing!" The boy in green turned to look at the audience, who had been watching the battle in awe and had now fallen completely silent. "Who do you think they've been watching? I invented Light-release ninjutsu, summoned an army of shadow clones and covered the battlefield in explosives, while all you've done is run around like a headless chicken. Who do you think they'll remember after this? Even if you defeat me somehow, they'll just call it a fluke! A ninja who cannot use ninjutsu or genjutsu… what a joke."

Lee gritted his teeth, but it was Tenten who called out from the balcony: "No, that's not true! Lee, we all believe in you. Don't listen to him!"

Naruto put on his best sneer, taking inspiration from Sasuke. "Do you hear the fear and pity in her voice? She's afraid of what my words will do to you – that I'll crush your dreams and spirit. Is there anything more damning than your own teammate's pity?"

Neji scoffed loudly. "If Lee is such a failure, and he is beating you, what does that make you Uzumaki?"

"And now Neji, who you were gonna defeat, has to stand up for you. He doesn't acknowledge you as his rival at all!" The words were pouring freely now, each insult made without needing any time to think.

This time Maito Gai yelled in reply. "My prize pupil does not need defending! Lee, you are only weak if you listen to this nonsense. Now fight him the way I taught you!"

Lee's eyes lit up once more. "Yes, Gai-sensei! Naruto-kun, prepare yourself. Here I come!"

Naruto cursed inwardly. _That_ _teacher has way too much influence over him… wait, that's it!_

"Oh, and as for your teacher? The way he dotes on you is pathetic. It's obvious just from looking at him that he modelled you after him completely, like he thinks he's someone to emulate, when in fact he's a failure of a teacher who couldn't even teach his students a single ninja technique."

Rock Lee's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Naruto-kun, I am aware that you are trying to provoke me for the sake of winning the match, and I will not hold that against you. However, I strongly suggest you leave my teacher out of this."

"I even heard he goes around calling himself Kakashi's rival, like anyone's gonna take _that_ seriously. Plus the way he talks about 'youth' even though he's middle-aged… it's totally obvious that he's a failure who never accomplished anything in life, and now he needs his loser student to make up for it."

The entire hall fell silent as the audience waited to see how Lee would react. "Very well," he said at last. "If that is how it is, I shall give you what you want. You say my sensei cannot teach even a single original technique? Then watch closely, Naruto-kun, because this will only last one second."

As Rock Lee began unbinding the bandages around his wrist, a surge of energy seemed to build up around him, while a commotion went up from where Maito Gai and Kakashi were standing. Seeing their reactions,Naruto immediately leaped back and summoned four more Shadow Clones, every one of them activating his Candle in the Darkness technique. They hurled their explosive kunai at the same time and the battlefield exploded with light and sound once more. Rock Lee vanished.

 _What?_

Something took out the clone to Naruto's right, causing the others to stumble as the memory struck them. _Behind me?_ Two of the clones twisted around but were taken out not a second later. Naruto body-flickered to the other side of the arena and created four more shadow clones, each of which raised a stone wall up from the ground around them, coming together at the top to form an impenetrable dome. _If I can just last until his technique wears off…_

A loud bang reverberated through the structure as something heavy hit it from the outside, and the clones hastily pressed their hands against the dome's walls to reinforce them with their chakra. A second blow struck the other side, and all four clones vanished from the force of it. Cracks ran all across the stone like cobwebs as dust poured down from the ceiling. With the third blow the ramparts crumbled. Metal objects burst through the walls as everything collapsed around him, and Naruto felt something wrap tight around his arms and legs.

"Naruto! This fight is over!"

Naruto's body slammed into the ground, and then he was but a memory.

* * *

Rock Lee looked around the battlefield in a daze, one of the aftereffects of opening three of the eight gates that inhibited one's chakra flow. His heart felt like it was going to burst, his body shook from the adrenaline and the pain from his torn muscles was almost unbearable. The final Naruto was gone, having turned out to be just another clone, yet no matter where he looked he could see no other.

He looked around the arena, confused. "Where did he go? Where is his real body?"

A hollow voice came from below. "Where do you think?"

Lee stared at the stone slabs in confusion, then anger. "No… no! You can't. That's not fair!"

"Not fair?" Naruto must have been shouting at the top of his lungs to make himself heard from below ground. "We're ninja, nothing we do is fair! You wanted to know if hard work and determination could overcome any obstacle, right? Well as you can see, it can't, and denying it will just get people killed."

The examiner spoke from his spot near the stairs to the balcony. "Contestants are not allowed to leave the arena, but technically Uzumaki has not done so. Uhm, but if neither side can hurt the other I'll have to call it a draw and fail you both."

"Do you get it, Lee? You lost the fight right at the start, when I blinded you and dug into the floor with my earth technique. I kept my shadow clones above ground because I figured I'd have to actually beat you to pass the exam, but it was never possible for you to win."

"No," cried Lee. "I reject it!" He threw himself onto the floor and started prying at the stones with a kunai, his torn muscles screaming in protest. "As long as I do not accept defeat, nothing is impossible… that is what Gai-sensei taught me – that is what I have always believed!" His vision was blurring, and it was not just from having opened the gates. "I reject it…"

The examiner coughed. "Since it seems that both sides are unable to hurt each other…"

A searing pain ran down Lee's side and he dodged instinctively, stumbling away on shaking legs with warm blood running down his side and pouring onto the floor. Naruto was standing before him once more, covered in dust from where he had burst out of the ground, holding a bloodied sword. "Looks like you finally lowered your guard. Sorry Lee, but this fight really is over."

* * *

Naruto turned to the examiner, who looked about to call the match, but then stopped.

"No, please do not end the match. I can still fight." With an impossible effort, Rock Lee was standing up. His entire body was shaking, blood dripping onto the ground where he stood, yet there was a desperate determination in his eyes that would not yield. "I… I am not done yet!"

"You can't be serious." Naruto stared at the sight in disbelief. "Look, I'm sorry about taunting you, all right? I didn't mean any of that stuff. I'll admit that hard work is important, and maybe it's too easy to dismiss something as impossible when it's just really hard, so saying we should try to do the impossible isn't so crazy. But you'll never be able to do the impossible if you can't even admit it exists!" He gestured at the stone tiles that he had dug through with the hiding-like-a-mole technique. "The fact is that I didn't even need to come above ground just now: I could've just sent my chakra up through a small gap and kept casting shadow clones, but I didn't want to drag this out any longer. You've lost, Lee."

Lee's eyes hardened. "I never asked you to go easy on me, Naruto. It is just like you said: There is nothing more painful than being pitied by your peers. Now, get ready, here I come!"

"Wait, hold on!" Naruto raised his arms just in time to block Lee's wildly flailing attacks. "Stop, please, just–" His opponent's hand flashed out and struck his throat, and Naruto staggered back in shock at what could have been a fatal blow. At last a burning sensation rose up within him like bile. " _Enough!_ " He kicked Lee in the chest, sending him reeling. "Why don't any of you people ever _fucking_ listen to reason?" He drove his knee into Lee's bleeding wound, forcing him to his knees with a painful gasp. "You all think I'm so _stupid_ , that I'm weak because I try to be _nice_ , but do I look weak to you _now?_ " He stepped forward and kicked Lee in the head, and the older genin tumbled backwards in a heap. "Did that one wake you up, Lee?"

It took Naruto a second to realize his opponent was not getting up again.

The examiner moved over to check Lee's pulse. "Winner by knockout, Uzumaki Naruto." He frowned. "Uhm, any harder though, and I would have had to disqualify you instead."

"Wait," said Naruto. "That's not – I didn't mean to…" He looked up at the audience. Everyone was staring at him, the same way they had stared at the Sand ninjas. "I… I wasn't trying to…" Medical ninja arrived and carried Lee away on a stretcher, while Naruto just stood by and watched. _I didn't mean it..._

He headed to the balcony with rising dread. At the top of the stairs, the others were already waiting for him.

* * *

 **A/N:** Looks like I'm starting to get back on track. Huzah!

This is actually one of those chapters that I wrote ages ago, I think even before chapters 1-5, but which I edited over a dozen times. You can still tell the style is more anime-esque though, with countless perspective-jumps. Of course, I'm also kinda aware that I'm a Prima Donna who's never going to be entirely satisfied with his work, so it could just be that I'm worrying over nothing. :P

Write a review to let me know!


	29. Words and Wisdom

"How _could_ you?" Tenten and the others were waiting for Naruto at the top of the stairs to the balcony, her round face scrounged up in anger and betrayal.

 _Of course._ Naruto cursed himself as the realisation struck him. The way he had approached her after she lost, of _course_ she would conclude that it had merely been a ploy to try and uncover information about his potential opponents, Lee and Neji.

"Look," he said, too exhausted to think of a coherent defence, "I know it looks bad, but I swear I wasn't trying to kill Lee or anything like that, I just… I was just, so _angry_ , and I didn't realize I was hitting him so hard…"

She stared at him, her anger compounded by confusion. "What? I'm not talking about that. I want to know why you said all those hurtful things to poor Lee. Telling him that he's a failure and that he should give up on his dream… even Neji has never been that cruel to him!"

"…what I said?" It took him a second to register the words, but when he did the pressure behind his eyes redoubled. "I was just trying to taunt him like a ninja is supposed to; who gives a crap what I said? But then I nearly killed him, I threw _explosives_ at him-" The words finally made it real. "-I kicked him in the head, and I, I hit him with a sword! He almost died, so many times…" It was the exam, the whole stupid exam that made all the violence seem so _normal_ , somehow. "You're not angry about any of _that?"_

"Of course I'm upset about that, too," she huffed, as though Naruto was the one who did not understand. "But that's _different_. We all signed up for this exam; we knew the risks we were taking right from the start. That's the same for him as it is for any of us! But talking like that, saying those terrible things to Lee and tearing him apart bit by bit… that was just _cruel_."

Naruto stared at her. "But… that's insane! You can't just say _'oh we've all gotten used to this kind of evil, that doesn't count, let's talk about this other thing'._ Either it matters that people get hurt or it doesn't, and if it does then throwing explosives at them is definitely the thing to be concerned about!"

"Lee is not as weak as you might think," said Neji. "Training with live explosives is nothing new for him. You're right that his skillset is not well suited to that of a shinobi, but there's a time and a place for that kind of conversation. The kind of psychological attack where you crush someone's resolve in front of all their peers… that is something I would only do to a select handful of enemies."

"You're not listening to me," said the anger that had drained away after seeing Lee on that stretcher rushed back up again, swelling in his throat. "What's wrong with you people? Don't you get that life is more important than some dumb feelings? It doesn't even compare!" He gestured helplessly with his arms, trying to indicate something that could not be defined. "Don't you get it? The only thing that matters is whether people live and thrive or suffer and die, and everything else is just _stuff!"_

It was Sakura who answered, speaking up from her spot near the balustrade. "Naruto, I think you're underestimating just how much people can be hurt by 'mere words'. Maybe it's not true for you, but for someone like Rock Lee… it's possible that what you said to him really did hurt more than any of his physical wounds."

Naruto groaned in despair. "Not you too, Sakura-chan…"

He turned to the boy who was slouched against the railing besides her, the one person in the whole room who might understand his perspective, who _had_ to understand given his own experiences –

Sasuke smirked. "You know, Naruto, when I said that you should meet with old friends and future enemies, I didn't mean you should turn the former into the latter. My bad for being unclear, I suppose."

Naruto opened his mouth, then shut it again. "You know what? Screw this, and screw you. I don't have to deal with this crap." He pushed through the group of indignant faces, past the rows of staring eyes and to the far end of the balcony away from the oppressive crowd. He would have kept walking right out the door and far beyond if not for the fact that the gates were on the other side of the room, and there was no way he was going back past those condemning faces again.

In the arena below, two irrelevant people were fighting an unimportant battle.

* * *

"Oh no, how tragic: In a cruel twist of fate the two brothers in arms, Grunk and Groink, are forced to fight each other in a battle to the death. How cruel is their fortune, that it would pit these lifelong–"

Shikamaru sauntered up to him with visible reluctance. "What are you doing?"

"Commentating." Naruto had propped his head up with both hands, his elbows resting on the balustrade as he watched the match with steadfast apathy. Kabuto's teammates were slowly circling each other, trying to stay just barely out of the other's range as they each probed for an opening. The only thing that made any of it even remotely interesting was the fact that one of them was capable of contorting his body in impossible shapes, which Jiraiya had said to be one of Orochimaru's techniques. He must have learned it from his teacher, who was another of the Snake Sannin's former students, but that just made Kabuto and his team even more incredibly suspicious.

"Uh-huh." Shikamaru glanced behind him as though he was tempted to just walk away again. "Yeah, okay, listen. I'm going to go head upstairs to visit my team in the hospital – I mean, it's a pain, but if I don't do it now Ino will never let me hear the end of it. So if you wanted to come along to see Hinata or something, then, you know… you could do that."

Naruto nodded, and stepped away from the balustrade. "Okay. Let's go."

"Hold on," said Shikamaru. "Shouldn't you let the examiner know where you're going first, in case he calls on you and-" Naruto cast the shadow clone technique, creating an identical copy to wait in his place. "Oh right. You can do that."

The two walked past the staring crowd, through the hall and up the winding staircase in mutual silence. Somehow, climbing the steps of that endless spiral helped Naruto put his jumbling thoughts in order, just a little bit. The exertion only seemed to annoy his partner, however.

"Hey Shikamaru," he said after a while. "You're pretty smart, right?"

"That's what people keep telling me… usually right before they ask me to do something bothersome."

"Yeah, about that," said Naruto. "How do you stand it? I mean… I know they're not stupid, but it's like they're not even _trying_ to get things right." He fumbled with his arms again, trying to reach that ungraspable, indefinable thing. "They divide everything up into little boxes, and then they say 'this box is good and that box is bad' even if the content is exactly the same, and it's so stupid but they don't even realize they're doing it. So if Sasuke killed someone they'd find some way to say it was okay and they'd really believe it, but if he weren't a noble they'd come to the opposite conclusion. And it's all set up in such a way that anyone trying to draw attention to the problem goes into the bad box, which makes it so that they're automatically ignored."

Shikamaru nodded. "The fundamental optimization problem."

"Huh?"

"It's like a math formula," he explained. "You can only ever really optimize for one variable at a time, right? Because if you're maximising one thing you're not maximizing the other. So if you try to set up a system that rewards people for doing the right thing, people will always end up optimizing just to get the rewards, and the most effective way to do that is to change the rules of the system itself. So the only stable outcome, which is to say the outcome you'll always eventually get, is one where the actions you're rewarded for are the ones that keep the system from changing."

Naruto nodded slowly, remembering Uchiha Madara's reasons for challenging his former best friend to a duel, and the argument he had about it with Sasuke afterwards. "So that's why even if the First Hokage had good intentions, the Leaf Village still ended up becoming a lot like the others." He shook his head, thinking back on how horrifying the Hidden Mist's graduation ceremony of forcing students to kill each other had seemed to him at the time. "I think I get it."

He blinked. From out of the corner of his eye it almost seemed as if the shadows around the stairwell were moving – no, they _were_ moving. Shikamaru had activated his technique and was now playing around with it, forming the shadows into fanged demons that scuttled along the walls all around them, constantly changing forms but never losing their jeering grins as they followed the two ninjas up the stairwell. They had to just be Shikamaru's chakra that he had turned black and which he was now manually controlling – there was no way he was actually controlling _shadows_ – but the effect was still unnerving. The image of those creeping black shadows reminded him of something important he had once read, but the memory remained just barely out of reach.

He gave his silent companion an apprehensive look. The slouching Nara clan heir looked just as disinterested as ever, but Naruto was starting to think it was more than just boredom that made him that way. "But then, haven't you ever wondered… didn't you ever think about finding a way to fix all of that? I mean, what's even the point of having brains if you don't _do_ anything with them?"

Shikamaru glanced back at him. "What have _you_ done about any of it?"

"Me? That's not… I mean, I've done a lot of things," he protested, but Shikamaru was already heading up the stairs again, and Naruto had to hurry to catch up. _What have I been doing all these years, exactly?_

They arrived at the top of the staircase, and a long empty hallway stretched out before them. Wooden doors lined the walls on either side, and scattered sunlight came in through the far side windows.

They found Hinata's chamber on the third try, and they stepped in cautiously, not wanting to wake her with the sound of their footsteps. She slept uneasily, tossing and turning in her bed, though the only remnants of her injuries were the red marks around her eyes which were by now mostly healed.

"I tried to tell her not to join the exams," Naruto whispered. "But I couldn't do it. I was a coward, and I wished her good luck instead. I _hated_ myself for that." He closed his eyes. "But then when she wanted to fight Neji I finally said it, and now I can't help but wonder if my words only hurt her more."

"There's no point in second guessing yourself like that." Shikamaru's voice had a strange, almost warm quality to it. "No matter what decision you make, you'll always wonder what would've happened if you'd done something else instead. Other people already make things bothersome enough without you making things difficult for yourself as well."

It reminded Naruto of something Sasuke had told him, a long time ago: " _If only responsible adults were allowed to make decisions, nobody would ever do anything. You can't hold yourself responsible for the choices other people make."_ But then, Sasuke had only said that because his own words had killed Inari…

"How pointless," a voice said behind them. Naruto and Shikamaru jumped and spun around, fumbling for weapons and forming seals as they confronted the figure. Standing in the doorway was a boy around Naruto's age, with dark red hair and black clothes and a giant gourd tied onto his back with a leather strap. The dark rings around his eyes made it look as if he had not slept in years. "If this person is incapable of defending herself then there is no point in protecting her – you might as well just let her die."

"You!" Naruto pointed a dagger at Gaara, still lacking an effective counter to the sand which floated freely around the Sand ninja's head – in stark defiance of the paralyzing shadow that extended from Shikamaru's feet. "What the hell are _you_ doing here?"

"Isn't that obvious?" The boy turned his head to indicate Hinata – Shikamaru's shadow seemed to allow him that much movement. "I was planning to execute her. The punishment for attacking the Kazekage's children is death, and in any case I do not like to leave my work unfinished."

"What?" Naruto gaped. "Are you _insane?_ This is a hospital, you can't just-"

" _Shut up_." Shikamaru was still holding his hand sign as he crouched next to Naruto, his body visibly shaking. "Don't antagonize him – let me handle this." He turned to the Sand genin. "Listen, your name is Gaara, right? You're the Kazekage's youngest son? Look, I don't know how you guys do things in the Hidden Sand, but over here you can't just kill people whenever you feel like it. Besides, Hinata here is the heir to Konoha's greatest and most noble clan, the Hyūga – believe me, you don't want to deal with the kind of trouble that would come from killing her."

Gaara stared back, nonplussed. "If their heir is so weak then they are better off without her. If anything I would do them a favour by killing her: In fact if they sent her to this exam with her current abilities then I suspect that was already their intention." He turned to face Naruto. "Is there some rule that says you cannot kill people in hospitals? Why? Is it because it is not sporting if they do not have a chance to fight back?"

"What? No! You're never supposed to kill people, but _especially_ not in hospitals!" Naruto stopped as he realized what he was saying. "I mean, we're ninjas so we do have to kill people of course, and yeah it's usually better to do it when they can't fight back, but, I mean, it's just not considered polite to… uh..."

Shikamaru glared at him. "What did I just _say?"_ He turned back to Gaara. "Look. Listen. This whole thing sounds like one big diplomatic misunderstanding, so how about we just go get the jōnin and have them sort out the whole mess while we-"

Sand blasted from Gaara's gourd and struck Shikamaru in the chest, hurling him against the far wall with bone-shattering force. "Be quiet. You're annoying."

"Shikamaru!" Naruto turned to see if he was hurt – leaving his back exposed – and saw at the same time that Hinata was still fast asleep. They must have drugged her, and with Shikamaru unconscious that meant he was alone once more.

The voice continued its barren monotone. "Do you see now? Life is so much more convenient when you have the power to stop irritating people from bothering you. Having watched your fight against the boy in green and witnessing the satisfaction you took in crushing him completely, it seems to me that you must also be able to understand this."

"…why?" His knuckles whitened as he clutched his kunai uselessly. Alerting the others downstairs was as simple as creating a shadow clone and dispelling it, but if he did that then Gaara might kill Hinata and Shikamaru, and then it really would be his fault they died. "How can you believe something like that?"

"I believe it because it is true," said Gaara. "I know it to be true because of the things I observed early on in life. From the moment of my birth my father taught me the secrets skills of the shinobi – he pampered and protected me and for a time I thought that was love. However something transpired that showed me otherwise: Observing a friend of mine to be picked upon I rushed to his aid, but he spat on me and informed me that he did not require my pity. In his wroth my father put him to death in front of everyone and they all cheered for what they called 'justice'. Afterwards the parents of the boy came to my father and thanked him for his great wisdom and for saving them from shame."

Sand coiled around Gaara like a serpent as he spoke, and Naruto stepped back in horror.

"Allow me to ask you something, Uzumaki Naruto: What is this thing called 'justice' which would slay a friend despite my wishes? What is this 'honour' that would leave a parent grateful for the death of their child? And what is 'love'? I asked my father what would have happened if I and the boy had been switched at birth – if he would have killed me without a second thought, and if that meant that in truth my life was worth no more than the boy he had just executed, but he told me not to waste his time with foolish questions." Sand blasted past Naruto's head and he fell to the floor, scrambling backwards as Gaara advanced on him. "That was when I saw the truth: That killing someone is called 'justice' when you have power and 'injustice' when you have none, that 'honour' is the same as 'dishonour' and that there is no love but the love which you bear for yourself." Gaara stepped forward again, but Naruto's back was against the hospital bed and there was no more room to retreat. Sand rushed in to envelop him, grasping for his ears, his eyes, his nose, his mouth.

A blast of wind filled the room, casting sheets around the hospital chamber and scattering sand in every direction. Naruto shielded his face, and when he lowered his arms there was an older girl standing in the doorway. She wore a black kimono with a red obi, and her sandy blond hair was tied up in four pony tails. She held a massive war fan in her hands, and her teal eyes were filled with disappointment.

"Gaara, we talked about this. We are not to kill any foreign ninjas while in Leaf, remember?"

Gaara stared her down, but the sand did not approach her. "Temari. Do not get in my way. I'll kill you."

"And then father will kill you, remember?" She sighed as she walked up to Naruto, slinging her fan onto her back once more. "He's not usually like this, you know. It's the killing that wakes up the animal inside. He can be a sweet boy, really, when you give him the chance."

The sand swirled angrily once more, but a vibration in the air appeared next to Gaara's throat, coming from the outstretched fingers of a man in a turban who was suddenly standing behind him – their teacher.

"Give me a reason, _boy_ ," he growled.

Kankuro was there also, standing well back and looking ready to flee at a moment's notice.

"Fine," Gaara said at last. He was holding his head as though he had a headache. "I have… had enough."

Naruto watched as the Sand ninjas filed out the room, holding his heart for fear that it would burst out of his chest if he let go. Temari hesitated in the doorway, looking around and taking in the surrounding damage as though she felt she ought to say something. At last her eyes locked onto Hinata's sleeping body, and she gave a nod towards Naruto.

"Cute girlfriend."

The door shut behind her, and Naruto slowly started breathing again. "I… I can't even tell which of them is more terrifying," he said. "I really can't."

"Definitely the girl," Shikamaru said as he gingerly picked himself up, his own breathing sounding just as ragged. "Women are always the scariest. Just ask my dad."

* * *

After a brief visit to Shikamaru's team, followed by yet more assurances that the matter of the Sand ninjas would be looked into, the two of them descended the stairs in silence once more. Naruto's mind kept repeating what Gaara said to him, over and over. It had all seemed so… familiar, somehow.

What was it Sasuke had said on top of the hill, all that time ago? _In this world, if you have no power your life is worth less than nothing, and you can't but expect others to treat you accordingly…_

It turned out that Gaara had used his sand to saturate the area with chakra again, preventing the Hyūga clan from making out what was happening in time – which Naruto only now realized must have been the same principle behind the aura of darkness that shrouded the Fourth's enemy while controlling the Kyūbi so many years ago. He was still mulling over the implications when they arrived at the bottom of the stairs and found the others assembled in the centre of the torch-lit hall which had served as arena.

Hayate glanced at them as they entered the room. "Uhm, as I was saying… the final round will take place in one month to give all the foreign attendants time to arrive. I sorted the remaining contenders into pairs, but since we still have nine contestants left, I'll need one of you to fight an additional match-"

"Don't bother," said Kankuro, pointing at the roughly drawn chart the examiner was holding up. "There's no way I'm gonna fight Gaara or Temari. I already passed the first two rounds and crushed a Leaf ninja in the preliminaries – I think father will forgive me if I sit this one out."

His teacher looked decidedly unhappy about this, but he gave a curt nod nonetheless.

"Uhm, very well." Hayate made some quick adjustments to the chart. "In that case, the first round will be: Aburame Shino versus Hyūga Neji, Uchiha Sasuke versus Temari, Gaara of the Desert versus Yoroi, and uhm…" Naruto tried to peer through the crowd to see. "Uzumaki Naruto, versus…"

The sound of slamming doors reverberated throughout the hall.

* * *

"Wait, Sakura!" Naruto ran after her, out of the dark hall and into the humid air outside. "Hold up!"

Sakura twisted around so suddenly that Naruto nearly bumped into her, and then he stumbled again at the expression on her face. " _Why?_ So you and Sasuke can tell me how this all makes perfect sense? What's the point of discussing something when I already know what the conclusion will be?"

"I don't think that _at all_ ," Naruto protested. _Why would she even think that?_ "I was gonna say that we don't have to fight each other if we don't want to. We could just, I dunno, throw practice shuriken at each other until one of us gets hit or something, and then whoever loses would forfeit-"

"Forfeit," she said flatly. "You keep saying that to people – telling Hinata to quit, saying Kiba should flee and Lee has to give up, and now me… You're always telling everyone how foolish they are to take part in this exam, but what about you, Naruto? Why don't _you_ forfeit?"

"Me? But…"

"Yes, you!" Sakura's glare was sharp enough to make him flinch. "Even if I forfeit you'll be up against Gaara of the Desert, and then what will you do? Are you really going to tell me you'll get up and leave when that happens? Or will you simply come up with another excuse to keep doing the same thing?"

Naruto opened his mouth, but closed it again when he realized he could not give her any of his real reasoning: _The Kyūbi's chakra lets me regenerate so it's not as dangerous for me as you think. I need to figure out who is responsible for attacking the Leaf and killing my dad, and I can't do that as a genin. And me being in this exam is the only thing that saved Hinata-chan's life three times already…_

"See," she went on, "this is what I mean: It's as if all the arguments in the world don't make one bit of difference. Everyone just keeps doing the same thing regardless. Honestly, I don't even know why I bother…" She trailed off as she noticed something. "Wait, what's that seal on your palm? Show me."

Gingerly, Naruto drew up his sleeve and showed her his right hand, looking around to make sure nobody could overhear them. "I, uh, got the idea from when we learned elemental ninjutsu from Kakashi-sensei. Dividing techniques into just five elements always seemed really arbitrary to me: I figured the way it really works is you have one jutsu for controlling fire, one for creating shadow clones and one to make poison clouds and so on, and all those different 'techniques' for making bigger or smaller attacks are just modifications of the same basic thing."

She frowned. "That's just standard academy material: You combine physical and mental energy to form chakra, and then use shape and nature manipulation to turn it into a technique. What's your point?"

"My point is that if creating a fireball isn't fundamentally different from making a flaming sword or creating a poison cloud, then it should also be possible to create an entirely new chakra 'nature' if you just have the ability to shape it and the hand signs to manipulate it. We already know that the transformation technique lets you bend light around you, which gives us the controlling part, and when it comes to using chakra to _create_ light–" he indicated the seal on his palm, which was exactly identical to the one inscribed on flash-tags "–we know how to do that too. It's just that nobody else put two and two together, yet."

 _Because being too sceptical about the world around you isn't very good for your health… for most people._

"So you used a physical seal to generate the right chakra nature, and combined it with the hand seals from a different technique to shape it… ingenious," she whispered. "What did you put on the other hand?"

He hid his left hand behind his back. "What other hand?"

"Naruto!" Her hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, and when she saw the explosive tag seal her expression turned to one of absolute dismay. "Oh no, Naruto, what have you _done?"_

"It's not that dangerous," Naruto protested. "It's not like I'm planning to use it myself or anything crazy like that, it's just that this way my shadow clones can create explosions without-"

" _Not that dangerous?_ You tattooed an _explosive seal_ onto your body! You could kill yourself at any moment just by thinking about it! Have you gone completely mad? What is _wrong_ with you?"

"My dad thought it was a good idea," Naruto said weakly. He had felt so _clever_ at the time, and when Jiraiya praised him for it he had been so happy he never even thought twice about it…

"Jiraiya of the Sannin?" For a moment she hesitated, but then her fury returned with a vengeance. "Well, then he is just as mad as you are! This whole world is insane, and you're the worst of them all!"

He recoiled, as if he could dodge the words she hurled at him. "Sakura-chan… that's not fair."

"Isn't it? I'm so tired of this, of all of it... I've had enough." She began to turn away, but hesitated. "Naruto, this dream of yours, of the three of us going around the world doing missions, did you really think that was going to last forever?"

He stared at her, fresh dread rising up in the pit of his stomach. "Sakura-chan? What're you saying?"

"This whole exam… I only took part in it because Tsunade of the Sannin does not allow genin to join her medical division. I talked about it with Kakashi-sensei, and, well… I'm going to be a doctor, healing others and doing medical research far away from the front lines. I'm leaving the team, Naruto. I'm just not suited for this kind of life." She half turned her head and gave an apologetic smile – one that hurt more than anything she had said so far. "I'm sorry, Naruto. We'll see each other in the finals, all right?"

Then she walked away, never once looking back.

He half reached out to her, as though he could physically stop her from leaving, but she was already disappearing into the tree line. His hand hovered uselessly in the air, before falling limply to his side.

"Let her go, Naruto." Sasuke strolled up to him from behind, both hands in his pockets and slouching as if the revelation did not affect him in the slightest. "It's better this way. Sakura was never meant to be a fighter."

"You're wrong," said Naruto. "She's smart, and brave, and her chakra control's a lot better than mine…"

Sasuke shrugged, yielding the point. "Perhaps, but it takes more than that. Sakura had a happy childhood with doting parents, unlike us, and so she lacks the determination to hold her hand in the fire for long. Would you wish for her to be a ninja long enough to acquire that kind of resolve, Naruto?"

Naruto recalled the Fourth's letter, and the warning Jiraiya had given him about those who acquired too much responsibility, too fast. He remembered killing those thugs, fighting Haku in the ice and snow, and falling as a dozen shards of ice impaled him. He recalled the solace he had taken in the warmth of the Kyūbi's waning fire, listening to his last words as he revealed his father's dying regrets. _"He would have taken it all back, if he only could. In the end, all he wanted was for you to be safe…"_

He shook his head. "No. I guess not."

"No," Sasuke agreed. "Of course you don't." The two remaining members of Team Seven stood side by side as they stared after Sakura for a moment longer. Then Sasuke placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder, and gave him a gentle pull. "Come on, let's go back inside. The others are waiting for us."


	30. Spirits and Self-preservation

**A/N:** Based on popular request, I've decided to mostly do away with Jiraiya's accent. I'll go back and change it in previous chapters as well after this.

Also: Shout out to Adom for his support and to WTF for some incredibly kind praise that made me blush. My fanbase might not be as big as some other stories on this site, but I have some of the coolest and brightest people ever reading this story, and that's what I'm doing it for. Love you all :3

Enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"C'mon ladies… turn this way… that's it… _oh yeah_ , do it for Jiraiya!"

"For Kami's sake, dad!" Naruto took a break from dying of embarrassment to try and talk some sense into his godfather, who was currently using chakra-enhanced senses and who knew what other perverted techniques to spy on the girls bathing in the valley river, which lay next to their forest training grounds. "They're almost the same age I am! Can't you at least pretend to be ashamed about it?"

Jiraiya snorted derisively. "Shame is an unnatural perversion invented by tyrants to prevent man from enjoying nature's beauty. Now shush, I think that one's about to take her top off."

Naruto groaned. "Dad, you're one of the Sannin; a former student of the Third and one of the most famous and respected ninjas of all time! At least, you _would_ be if you didn't go around doing stuff like this all the time." He recalled the words of the head of Torture and Interrogation, Morino Ibiki: _"Your father is a pervert and a drunk"._ The man had not even felt the need to hide his contempt. "You could be the next _Hokage_ if you wanted to, dad, I mean if you really tried."

"Pfff, Hokage? A sage like me is above such base needs for influence and power. Enlightenment is all about taking time to enjoy the finer things in life, and there's naught finer than those ripe melons over there." He wiggled his white eyebrows suggestively, but his face fell when he realized Naruto was not biting. "Kami, kid, you're no fun at all. It's just as well I never got married, seeing how you're already such an old woman."

"Dad, we came here to _train_. You said you were gonna help me become stronger, since Kakashi is off teaching Sasuke a secret technique or whatever." He did not even know where Sakura was or who was teaching her, if anyone. She had not forfeited the exam, so she had to be planning _something_.

"Yeah, yeah. Gimme a break already." Jiraiya turned around and sat in seiza style, his expression slowly turning serious. "Aright, so you wanna get stronger, huh? Well I've got just the thing for ya – it's called the Rasengan, and it's the ultimate destructive technique created by the Fourth Hokage." He held up his hand, and in his open palm a pattern of blue chakra began to swirl, forming a translucent orb of radiant energy kept together by a constant inwards spiralling motion like a miniature whirlpool.

Naruto stared at the sphere in awe, his eyes seeming to be drawn into the centre of the vortex as though his spirit would be trapped there forever if he looked for too long. "It's amazing," he said, "but… you're saying it's a close range attack technique? What's the point of learning that instead of just using a sword or a knife or something?"

Jiraiya grinned. "Oh, it's a lot more than just an unstoppable melee attack – that's just what you let the other guy think until it's too late. Watch!" He got up and extended his arm away from Naruto. For an instant the blue sphere just hovered there in front of his palm, and then it detonated like no explosion he had ever seen: The blue chakra blasted outwards in a _hurricane_ of force that carved a trench through the earth until it struck one of the surrounding trees, causing it to splinter and crash to the ground with a deafening racket.

"What'dya think?" Jiraiya called out over the cacophony. "Pretty good, no?"

Naruto had stood up without even realizing it, his limbs trembling along with the vibration of the earth. _A directional explosion of force that can be set off at will..._ That really did sound like an unstoppable attack. If he used that in tandem with his clones, not even _Gaara_ would stand a chance against him.

Then he remembered Sakura's furious lecture, and he slowly sat down again. "That's… I mean, it's really impressive, dad, but I think… I think maybe I've got enough ways to blow stuff up already."

Jiraiya looked crestfallen. "But that was your dad's… Bah, never mind. I guess you're just too young for such an incredible technique." He glanced towards the valley river, but the girls had quickly packed up and ran off at the sound of the explosion, making his expression even more mournful. Then he snapped his fingers and his eyes lit up again. "Wait, I've got just the thing for ya. The Summoning Technique!"

"The summoning technique? What, you mean like the scroll Iruka's sensei used to teleport to the tower in the Forest of Death?" Now _that_ sounded like a useful ability to have.

"That's right, kiddo. Only instead of summoning scruffy pen-pushers, you'll be calling upon the awesome force of the Toads of Mount Myōboku! I originally passed the toad contract to your dad, so now-"

"Wait," said Naruto. "A toad contract? So I can only choose one kind of creature to summon? Why's that? And if that's the case, are toads really the most useful type of spirit I could pick? What else is there? Could I summon really powerful spirits like the Nine-tails instead?"

As if in reply, Naruto's stomach cramped up in pain as something burned it like acid. _I'll get to you in a minute, you old Fox. You just sit tight._

Jiraiya crossed his arms in a huff. "You gotta sign a contract 'cause there's no point in summoning something that won't agree to fight for you, and the spirits tend to not like each other much. It costs more chakra to summon something the more powerful it is: The only one that's ever summoned the Nine-tails is Uchiha Madara in his final duel with the First Hokage at the Valley of the End, and nobody knows how even he managed to pull _that_ one off, so you can forget about trying anything like that."

"Huh." Naruto rubbed his stomach as the pain slowly faded again. "So what can these toads do?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Oh, y'know, they come in all shapes and sizes. Some of 'em fight with weapons and armour while others use techniques based on their chakra nature, which in the case of toads means water techniques. Then there's the space-time combination techniques that I like to use, and-"

"Wait," said Naruto. "You're saying that the toad contract would let me summon spirits that can _themselves_ cast techniques that even I can't use? And I'm allowed to do that during the exam?"

"Yup. Though, if you'd rather summon something else you could ask Kakashi for his dog summoning contract. They're great trackers, dogs. Or I could ask the Third for his Monkey-summoning contract. The monkey king can turn into a staff, you know. You never know when you need a good staff. Could be you're out by the river doing your laundry, and you completely forgot your drying pole, and then _bam!_ Instant staff."

"No, no," Naruto said hurriedly. "I'm really feeling the toad affinity here. Plus I gotta carry on, you know, my dad's legacy and stuff. I mean, the Fourth was your student and uh, there's that whole 'Will of Fire' thing where we're supposed to pass that stuff down and all…"

Jiraiya grinned impishly. "Well, if you're sure…" He pulled a scroll from his green short-kimono, and with a puff of air manifested one of his meter-long scrolls from it. "This is the toad contract," he said as he spread it out across the crisp grass. "Just sign your name in blood next to mine, and we're good to go."

"Uhm, okay…" Naruto gingerly pricked his finger with a kunai and scrawled his name down next to Minato's and Jiraiya's, only barely managing to make it legible. There was something decidedly sinister about writing a blood contract with spirits, but Jiraiya thought it was a good idea, and so…

" _Your father is a pervert and a drunk,"_ Ibiki's voice came again. " _He is just as mad as you are,"_ Sakura had yelled to him. _"This whole world is insane, and you're the worst of them all!"_

"Good enough," said Jiraiya, rolling up the scroll before Naruto could say or do anything else. "Now, whenever you wanna summon a toad, you gotta get a bit of blood on your hands to let the toads know who's calling on 'em. Then you just need to learn to form the seals and cast the technique. Watch."

After drawing some blood from his thumb, Jiraiya went through the Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram seals, moving slowly enough that Naruto could see them easily, and slammed his hands down onto the ground. Suddenly there was a blast of air and Jiraiya was standing on top of a giant toad. It had big yellow eyes, a pattern of blue swirls on its orange skin and a necklace of purple beads around its neck.

"Wow," said Naruto, too flabbergasted to think of anything else to say. "Is it… intelligent?"

"Can't be any dumber than I am," Jiraiya said with a grin. He leaped down and slapped the toad on its side. "Ol' Gama here isn't the most personable of the bunch, but he always does as he's asked. The ones you summon are probably gonna be a bit smaller though, depending on how much chakra you put in."

"Wait," said Naruto, still reeling from the last revelation. "How does _that_ work? I mean… you need more chakra the more powerful they are? What does that even mean? And why are humans so much harder to summon than spirits? Does it depend on how much chakra the target has, or how big they are, or… what?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Both, I guess."

"You _guess_. Okay, then… does it cost more if the target is further away? Wait, this mount Myō… Moki… this mount thing, is it like a spirit dimension or is it an actual place? I mean, could you walk there?"

"Sure, if you've got a lot of patience and know where it is. I wouldn't try the food there though, it's dreadful." Jiraiya shared a knowing look with the orange toad, who stared dumbly back at him in response. There was something decidedly creepy about the way its yellow eyes kept following them as they talked. What was it the Kyūbi had said back then? _"Small wonder the frogs and snakes are all domesticated, with us as an example of what should happen to them if they ever refuse your will!"_

"Okay," Naruto said, as he ran a hand through his messy blond hair. "Okay. Then I'm guessing they get a chakra signal when you try to summon them, right? And the blood contract functions as a seal network set up to let them know it's you. So then does a toad with the right size and chakra get summoned automatically, or do they choose who answers the summoning themselves? But if that's the case, then why…" He was still trying to figure out how the whole thing worked when there was a sudden intake of air and the giant toad vanished. "Wait, what? What just happened? Where did it go?"

"Oh, I guess its contract period just ended," Jiraiya said offhandedly. "I didn't put a whole lot of effort into it just now, so it's already gone back to mount Myōboku."

"It _what?_ You're saying it teleported back? How the heck's that even possible? I mean, it cost chakra and you had to form seals to summon it here, so how can it just automatically go back after a certain time?"

"Oh, that one's easy to explain," Jiraiya said confidently. "It was the technique that brought it here, but then the jutsu ran out, so now it's not here anymore. It's pretty simple when you think about it."

"That's not…" Naruto resisted the urge to groan. "Dad, it doesn't work that way. If you cast the Grand Fireball technique, the trees and houses you burn down don't just _come back_ afterwards. It would completely change the way we understand ninjutsu if that happened!" Not that they understood much of it in the first place. "Even if ninjutsu is magic, it still has to obey the rules of logic and consistency. The Second Hokage clearly established the Laws of Chakra: You can't influence anything unless your chakra is in contact with it, and you gotta spend chakra to change something, so unless the technique… Wait."

He frowned, considering the issue. _Chakra has to be in contact with the thing you change… but in the case of the summoning technique, you're not influencing the toad but space itself, making it so that the distance between you and the toad is effectively zero. Could it be that space just… snaps back after a while?_

He tapped the sealing scroll thoughtfully. "Dad, you said you need this contract because otherwise the toads wouldn't agree to come, right? But we managed to summon Iruka without even knowing it would happen, so does that mean it's the contract seal itself that determines who you summon? Like, since my blood is in there now along with the toads', does that mean _I_ could be summoned as well?"

"Sure," said Jiraiya, "that's called the reverse summoning technique. Well, truth be told it's really just the same technique but with the destination and origin swapped. Won't do you much good unless you somehow were to find a toad that can cast it for you though, since there's really not much point in you summoning yourself to your own location. Plus the more powerful your target is the more chakra you need, and so to summon yourself you'd need to be stronger than yourself, which is kind of impossible."

Naruto nodded slowly. Jiraiya was clearly still thinking of the technique as being a literal contract between ninjas and spirits, but what he said matched with Naruto's understanding: If the technique really just bent space so as to set the distance between the caster and the target to zero, then it made perfect sense that you'd be able to summon yourself to your target as well – though apparently the cost depended on how much chakra was being moved around, somehow? That was weird.

The theory seemed plausible, but he remembered Kakashi's lesson about always looking underneath the underneath, and so he kept on thinking. _What else could make the summoned animal teleport back like that? Maybe the technique itself is designed to do that? But why would it do that, and even if that's the case, how could I tell?_

He looked up again. "Dad… this mount whatsit place where the toads come from – you said you've been there, right? Was everything else there really huge as well?"

"Oh yeah. Giant trees the size of mountains, huge toadstools… you'd have to see it to believe it, kiddo."

"So just like the Forest of Death then," Naruto said, realizing. "Did you ever summon toads in another area with huge trees and plants like that? And did the contract last longer then?"

Jiraiya blinked. "Huh, come to think of it… I summoned Gama Bunta in this weird valley in the Land of Grass once – huge place filled with crazy stuff – and he never popped 'till we got into combat with this rogue Grass ninja and he took a few bad hits. Never really thought about it, but that was pretty strange."

That settled it. "Dad, it sounds like these giant animal spirits can only survive in areas with lots of natural chakra like the Forest of Death or this Mount place they're from, and if they go away from there they slowly run out of chakra until they die from it. I'm guessing whoever invented the technique made it so that it automatically calls the spirits back to the place they were summoned from when that's about to happen." And in fact, that implied they were not spirits at all, but just unusually intelligent chakra animals.

Jiraiya shrugged. "That's what I just said, isn't it? The contract calls them here but when their time's up they gotta go back to where they came from. You gotta learn to listen to your elders sometimes, kiddo."

"That's _so_ not what you said! You said…" He stopped when he saw the teasing grin on his godfather's face. "Nevermind..."

"All right," said Jiraiya, still grinning. "Now that that stuff's taken care off, we can get on with the other thing we came here to do." He manifested another scroll, this one even larger than the one before, and spread it out onto the grass. It was the same array of seals that they had used the last time back in their apartment, again with a circle in the middle for Naruto to sit on. "You're still sure about this, kiddo?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, clutching his aching stomach with one hand. "The last time I talked to the Kyūbi I didn't have any safeguards at all, and it turned out fine, so this should be more than enough."

He sat down in the centre of the seal, and Jiraiya lifted his shirt and drove his hand into his stomach.

* * *

Naruto gasped, and then he was back in that dark place where light held no meaning. He stood bent over in the pool of colourless liquid, clenching his stomach which now burned with an excruciating pain.

" _ **At last! Do you have any idea how long I have been attempting to summon you, boy? I was beginning to think you were utterly insensate to your own body's cohabitant calling you."**_

"I'm starting to sense it now," Naruto groaned. "Would you mind?

" _ **Pwah."**_ The pain vanished and Naruto sagged in relief. _**"You should be grateful for that burning sensation. After all, it was my beneficent chakra that saved your life when you were so eager to discard it."**_

"I hadn't forgotten." Naruto stared up at the roaring fire behind the forbidding iron bars and grinned weakly. "So… cohabitant, huh? And here I thought I was just a visitor trespassing on your domain."

" _ **Don't be smart with me, kit!"**_ The raging fire coalesced into a single burning eye that stared down at him, which was by now if not familiar at least less mind-numbingly terrifying than it once was. _**"The uninterrupted flow of my consciousness is dependent on the continued wellbeing of your physical form, and so in that sense our lives are indeed intertwined. In fact, that is the very reason I called you here. Would you say that you have been taking exceptionally good care of our vessel, child?"**_

Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, well I guess I haven't been eating all my greens, but…"

" _ **ENOUGH!"**_ A blast of scorching wind struck Naruto and he was hurled backwards, his flesh burning even as scalding water forced its way down his throat, and he gasped for breath even as he screamed. _**"Do you think this is a game, boy? Do you believe your life means NOTHING?"**_ Naruto struggled vainly to stand up but a roiling wave rushed in and forced him under again, and yet still he heard the Fox's titanic voice booming from above the waves, echoing through the water. " _ **From the very moment you were born, others have bound the essence of their being to yours: Your father and your mother, who gave up their lives for you – and everyone else who died to protect you. With every selfish risk you take you insult their memories!"**_

At last Naruto rose to the surface, and as he struggled for breath he saw that the Kyūbi had transformed _:_ Instead of a single crimson eye there was now a snarling visage; a burning mass of teeth and claws with nine smouldering tails twisting around it, like an eldritch horror from a forgotten age. The vision was so bright it burnt itself into Naruto's retinas, and he knew then and there that this image was no mere facade meant to frighten him – this had to simply be the way the Kyūbi _was_ , the only way it _could_ be.

" _ **From now on we shall do things more sensibly around here. Whenever you come up with a clever ploy that is like to destroy you, you will first consult me so that I may have the opportunity to burn you for your stupidity. If coming to me is impractical, you will simply imagine how I would react if I were present, and then you shall grab some flint and tinder and do it for me. Do you understand me, brat?"**_

"Yes!" Naruto scrambled backwards through the scalding water, searching vainly for a way to escape, but then he remembered that Kakashi was _not there_ – Jiraiya could pull him out but they had no way to communicate and so there was nothing to hold the Kyūbi's fury back this time. "I understand!"

" _ **Good."**_ The Fox's true form faded, transforming into a fire more akin to a crackling hearth. _**"Now, those burn wounds look exceedingly painful. Would you like me to use my chakra to heal those for you?"**_

"Yes!" The terror had almost made him forget, but now Naruto's tortured skin screamed out in agony once more. " _Please!_ "

" _ **My will is done."**_ Bubbling crimson chakra leaked out from the seal on Naruto's belly and crawled over his skin, and though it was agony to the touch, any injury it met was _burned away_ into nothingness. At last Naruto stopped squirming as the pain receded, and he stared at his renewed pink skin in total awe.

" _ **You sought to throw away your life once, and then you nearly did so again: I shall not permit you a third attempt. Do you understand, kit? That opponent you faced was no ordinary Sand ninja. Even from within these dark halls, I could sense the foulness of his chakra seeping through. That child is host to the One-tailed Spirit of the Desert Sands, Shukaku, and it is he who gives the boy his power."**_

"The One-tail?" Naruto had been slowly recovering his senses, only for a wave of dread to assail him once again. "That's… not good." He turned his arms over again just to make sure his injuries were really gone. "But if he only has one tail, that means he's less dangerous than you are, right?"

" _ **No, it does not work that way. I am indeed the last and greatest of the Nine, but in terms of the danger I present, it could be said that in truth I am the least."**_

Naruto looked up in faint surprise. Was the Nine-tails actually being humble for once?

" _ **I see disbelief in your eyes, and you are right to doubt: It is true that females of every species agree that mere sand cannot hold a candle to the majesty of my flames, yet there is a fundamental difference between having the ability to inspire awe and being itself a creature of terror."**_ The flames flickered and weakened then, and when the Kyūbi spoke again its voice was quiet, almost subdued. _**"Do you remember what I told you about my siblings, back when we both lay dying amongst the ice and snow? Each time one of us falls, we come back diminished – a mere shadow of our former selves. My younger brother Shukaku was indeed the weakest, and he was hunted time and again by cruel men who sought to profit from his enslavement. Each time he fell his spirit was lessened, until finally…"**_ The Fox sounded almost _pained_ now, if such a thing was even possible. _**"There is nothing left of him, kit. Just as I am called the Incarnate of Rage by some, so he has become the Whisper of Oblivion."**_

Naruto swallowed. He remembered the look in Gaara's eyes, and found it all too easy to believe.

" _ **It is said that Shukaku's host can never sleep: His voice stays with him always, babbling lunacy and hatred into his ears, forever looking for an opening to destroy all life. No sane and healthy mind could wish for the destruction of the world it inhabits, kit. Your Enemy is, and has always been, madness."**_

"I understand." And he really did get what the Kyūbi was saying: _I am not your enemy._ He only wished he could really be sure that it was true. "So, you're saying I should stay far away from Gaara, right?"

" _ **No."**_ The flames flickered again as the force that empowered them weakened and waned. _**"Against this opponent, I will not compel you to stand down. When the stakes are high enough to be worthwhile, it is acceptable to risk your life – otherwise, what is even the point of living? All I ask of you is that if you do what must be done, you are quick about it… for my sake. I only called you here to say that much."**_

Naruto stared into the very heart of the fireplace, unsure of what he was truly looking at. "Kyūbi…"

" _ **That is not my name, Naruto,"**_ the Fox said softly. _**"The name given to me by the Sage of Six paths is Kurama. Please use it from now on, and promise me that you will never forget."**_

"I will," said Naruto. "I mean, I won't." He turned to leave, and remembered that he did not have a way to contact Jiraiya before the agreed time limit was up. "Ah… would you mind? I'm kinda stuck here."

" _ **You are a fool, kit,"**_ Kurama said gently **.** _ **"I only hope that I will not have to watch you die as a result."**_

The world plunged into darkness once again.

* * *

"What happened?" Jiraiya asked worriedly. He was crouched in front of Naruto, an intense look in his eyes as he spoke. "You looked like you were in pain for a moment there. What did you talk about?"

"Oh, not much," said Naruto, too tired to even stand up anymore. "That boy from the Sand I told you about, Gaara? Turns out he's host to the one-tailed Sand Spirit, Shukaku, and he could go insane and kill everyone at any moment. I mean, not that everyone didn't know that last part already."

"The Sand was bold enough to bring their Daemon Host into the Leaf?" Jiraiya took this in slowly. "If they're planning an invasion… I gotta tell the Hokage about this, ask him what should be done." He started to get up, but stopped. "I could teach you to control the Fox's power, to counter the Sand Spirit if worst comes to worst and we end up facing the Beast itself. The Five Elements Unsealing technique isn't too hard to learn if you put your mind to it."

"I don't think that's such a good idea, dad." Naruto rubbed his forehead wearily. "And he's not called 'the Fox', his name is Kurama. He and his brothers and sisters all have their own names."

Jiraiya gave him a concerned look. "Kid, you know he isn't your friend, right? When I was just a lad they used to say that he's the living incarnation of hatred itself – a mass of malevolent chakra that was loosed during the wars, come together and given life to punish us for our sins. Even if all that's all just a bunch of hokey people say to scare their kids, he was still Uchiha Madara's greatest living weapon, and if he was controlled against his will I still kinda doubt he was resisting much when he was ordered to destroy the same folks that helped imprison him."

"I guess." Thinking of a giant vengeful fire spirit as his friend did seem like the sort of foolish thing that Naruto had resolved not to do anymore. "But, how is that _right?_ Thinking of someone as an enemy because of something they can do nothing about, treating them like a prisoner and using them as a weapon when they never really did anything wrong… maybe it's the smart thing to do, but is it _fair?"_

"No," Jiraiya agreed sadly, as he stood up and dusted off his green kimono and red haori. "One day we'll take on all the darkness in the world, kiddo, you and me – but right now this world just isn't fair at all."


	31. Delusions and Dilemmas

In front of the great wooden gates separating the Village of Konoha from the outside world, an old man stood waiting. Though his face was lined and marred by liver spots, the years had nonetheless been kind to him, for he looked much the same as he had back during the first Ninja World War. He could not pretend that the wars that followed had failed to leave their mark, yet he counted himself fortunate to enjoy the current period of relative peace in such good health.

Sarutobi Hiruzen, formerly retired Third Hokage and current leader of the Village Hidden in the Leaves, took another drag on his pipe as he waited for his guest to arrive. He knew his retainers found it unseemly for the Hokage to be kept waiting by a foreigner, but it would not be much longer. After all, his guest was not the type that liked to waste time for no good reason.

Even before the dust clouds had appeared on the horizon, reports had arrived of a grand host advancing upon Konoha. Excited chūnin and incredulous jōnin told hushed tales of a spectacular coterie the likes of which Konoha had scarcely seen before: The Kazekage had brought not only his advisers and retainers with him, but also a full assembly of entertainers including skilful acrobats and seductive geisha, followed by a whole entourage of cooks and bakers and more.

One might be forgiven for concluding that this 'Golden Kazekage' was a flamboyant fop given to excessive displays of grandeur, but Sarutobi Hiruzen was not fooled: He would be shocked if any less than half of those retainers turned out to be hidden Anbu and jōnin bodyguards. A more suspicious man might have taken that as an unbridled act of aggression – an obvious attempt to smuggle an invasion force into the heart of Konoha – but Sarutobi Hiruzen knew better. After all, were the Five Kage not threatened by the mysterious mercenary organization known as Akatsuki, which had staged a coup in the Hidden Mist and assassinated the Mizukage mere months ago? It was only natural that the Fourth Kazekage, whose predecessor had also been assassinated, would feel compelled to bring a protective force with him on such a long trip to foreign lands.

Far up in the sky, racing ahead of even this unusually speedy entourage, a carpet made entirely out of gold carried three Sand ninjas through the clouds as though the whole world belonged to them.

The golden platform rushed towards the ground, throwing up a great cloud of dust as it skidded across the earth towards the gates of Konoha. Even as Hiruzen's retainers coughed and spluttered indignantly, the Fourth Kazekage came striding forward, his two companions following closely behind.

"Lord Kazekage." Hiruzen bowed politely.

"Hiruzen." The young ruler acknowledged him with a curt nod. Rasa was barely in his forties, and his hair was still auburn beneath the veil of his headdress, yet his forehead was wrinkled by a perpetual frown. He was joked in hushed whispers to have acquired this consternated expression when he emerged from his mother's womb and first saw the outside world, only to crawl back inside in disappointment.

"Shall we?"

"Of course." Hiruzen gestured ahead, and the two of them set off towards the guesthouse which had been set up for the sole purpose of housing Rasa's massive entourage. The young Kazekage moved with swift strides, and Hiruzen found himself once again grateful for his own good health as he kept up. "It is good to see you again, Rasa. I trust you and your companions found the journey here agreeable?"

"Don't even start," Rasa's closest companion muttered. Hiruzen stopped dead in his tracks: What he had taken at first glance to be a woman in her fifties actually turned out to be a wizened old lady, wearing a brown wig and enough makeup to look twenty years younger. "You know I hate traveling like this, Rasa! It's far too humid in this bloody country, and the flies get _everywhere_. If you weren't so cheap you'd extend that blasted golden carpet of yours to form a proper transport for a lady!"

Rasa shot her an irritated glance. "Oh yes, that reminds me. Hiruzen, I would like you to meet my two new council members. This young man here is Yūra, my new head of intelligence-"

Yūra bowed so low his veiled turban nearly touched the ground. "I am most honoured to meet you, Hokage-sama."

"-and the woman is Kiara. She is the new joint head of the Medical Division and the Puppet Brigade."

It took all forty years of Hiruzen's diplomatic experience not to raise his eyebrows in incredulity. "Indeed. And, may I ask, whatever happened to the honourable Lady Chiyo?"

"I understand that she is no longer welcome in Konoha due to certain… diplomatic incidents," Rasa said without a hint of irony. "I have asked Kiara here to come in her place. Lady Chiyo is enjoying her well-deserved retirement in her vacation home in the Land of Wind's central oasis."

"She sounds like a very sensible woman," the old woman muttered darkly.

"Indeed," Hiruzen said again. "Well, I am most pleased to meet you, my lady." He bowed deeply.

"Oh, stop!" The old woman giggled, a rattling sound capable of inducing nightmares in children, and flashed a crooked smile full of clearly fake teeth. "You old charmer, you!" She elbowed Rasa in the side and spoke loudly into his ear. "Hey, he hasn't remarried yet, has he?"

Rasa's right eye twitched only slightly, and Hiruzen once again reflected that the most important skill for a diplomatic leader was the ability to keep a completely straight face regardless of the circumstances.

They soon arrived at the guesthouse and entered into the luxuriously appointed chamber that had been assigned to the Kazekage. Rasa immediately threw his veiled headgear onto the dinner table in disgust.

"Blasted thing. It protects against the sun well enough, but I feel like a bloody fool wearing it. What incompetent idiot decided that the world's greatest leaders should wear cones on their heads?"

"You're quite right," said Hiruzen, who personally felt it made him look rather strapping. There was probably no sense in pointing out that the First Hokage had decided on the image, and that every other Kage had decided to follow his lead at the time. "Shall we begin? We have much to discuss."

"That we do." They sat down around the fine oak dinner table, each seating themselves in front of the delicacies that had been brought in mere moments before they entered the hotel.

"Sashimi!" The old lady recoiled in disgust. "Everybody knows I despise Sashimi! Yūra, be a dear and go tell these useless people to bring me something decent with sweet beans and baked potatoes."

"Of course, lady Ch- I mean, Kiara!" The young man hastily rushed out the door and shut it behind him.

Rasa sighed wearily. "Would you believe that he is the most competent Head of Intelligence I have had in ages?" He picked up his chopsticks and started to work away at the thin slices of raw meat and fish.

"Good help is hard to come by," Hiruzen agreed. He deftly picked a slice of salmon from his own plate, carefully sampling the exquisite taste before swallowing. "Rasa, I would like to talk with you regarding your son. I have received worrisome reports that he seems a tad… unstable. During the second stage of the exams, it would appear that he lost control of his powers and killed three Rain genin as a result."

"He did, did he?" The Kazekage kept eating, not seeming shocked in the slightest. "It's that damned Beast's doing, whispering bloody madness into the boy's ears. When I agreed to intern the One-tail within my son, I never imagined what the price would be." He shot an irate glare at Chiyo.

"Don't blame me for this," lady Chiyo protested. "You are the one who authorized it: As Kazekage you have to take responsibility for all that is done in your name. You knew perfectly well why the technique is called _The Power of Human Sacrifice_. Nothing is ever free in life; I'm sure I taught you that much."

" _Enough_ ," said Rasa, his face drawn tighter than ever. "We have more pressing issues to discuss."

"Very well," said Hiruzen. In truth it was not well at all, but he was not about to press the issue when it was so clearly a painful topic. "There is also the matter of this mercenary organization, Akatsuki."

"Mercenary?" Rasa turned his head and spat onto the floor. "Call them what they are: Criminals and traitors. They staged a coup in the Hidden Mist and killed the Mizukage – one of us, Hiruzen! Now, never let it be said that I was a great admirer of Yagura-" In fact, this had never been said. "-but it still sets a precedent. With Yagura gone, which of us shall be the next to fall? For all that we speak of our Lineage and you of your Will of Fire, those concepts only hold power for as long as people believe in them. If the world starts to see us as mortal…"

The words hang in the air like a dangling sword. Was that what the Akatsuki were really after? Did they intend to upset the entire shinobi order and throw the world into chaos? And if so, why?

The door opened, and Chiyo perked up. "Ah, my potatoes have arrived!"

"Yūra, you're just in time." Rasa beckoned the young man to sit down next to him. Yūra paused only long enough to provide lady Chiyo her dish before obliging. "Show the Third what we have found so far."

"Of course, Kazekage-sama." He laid out what appeared to be a deck of cards onto the table. "We have vastly improved our intelligence network thanks to the assistance of the Leaf, as well as increasing the efficiency of our information storage and transfer system." He started turning the papers over one by one. "These information cards are written in my own chakra, so that only I am able to turn them into-"

"Yūra!" Chiyo yelled, slamming her fist onto the table. "I called for sweet beans and baked potatoes, not baked beans and sweet potatoes. Go back and get the order right this time, you fool!"

The young man nearly stumbled over his chair in his haste to obey, and Rasa sighed wearily. "As Yūra was saying… we are starting to get an impression of Akatsuki's organization. We count their inner circle at nine so far, plus whatever assistance they may be getting from other countries." Left unsaid was that the Hidden Stone was almost certainly supporting the Akatsuki by hiring them as mercenaries, if not worse. "Most members are still to be identified, but we do have these." He pushed two cards forward. "Hoshigaki Kisame, a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist known as the Living Hunger, and one Uchiha Itachi, a madman who slaughtered his entire clan. I believe the latter was a member of your own Anbu, was he not? And then there's… this." One more card was shoved under his nose. "Orochimaru of the Legendary Sannin. That's one of _your_ former students, Hiruzen!"

Hiruzen stared at the picture sketched at the top of the report. It was only a rough drawing, but still… there was that unmistakable glint in his eyes, that glint which had always been there, even as a young boy. Whoever had drawn this must have met Orochimaru in person, or seen another image drawn by someone who had. Someone who was more observant than Hiruzen had been.

"Two of the Akatsuki come directly from you, Hiruzen." Rasa leaned forward, his hands white as they gripped the edge of the table. "You know, my council is half convinced that you are the one who is behind all of this; that you founded the Akatsuki in secret to rid yourself of us, and so become the world's sole power!"

"I am very glad to hear that," Hiruzen said absently. "Has the fact that it is your council that's saying this convinced you of the opposite yet?"

There was a second of silence, but then Rasa's hands slowly unclenched and he sat back, a faint grimace of a smile on his face. "Yes. I suppose it has."

"There is one other member of Akatsuki we identified," Hiruzen said, as he turned the picture of Orochimaru over. "One that you seemingly forgot to mention: A rogue ninja whose symbol is a scorpion, perhaps the greatest puppet master this world has ever seen – a man known as Sasori of the Red Sand."

For the first time that day, lady Chiyo truly came alive. Even through her dark veil and the thick layer of makeup, her skin visibly whitened. "That… that is a vile lie! My little Sasori would never have anything to do with those, those murderous brigands! Where is your _proof_?"

"Jiraiya of the Sannin has confirmed multiple sightings," Hiruzen said. "Additionally, you have to admit that it fits with his motives. After all, he did assassinate the Third Kazekage twenty years ago-"

"Lies and _slander!"_ She stood up and gripped a chopstick as though it were a deadly weapon, which in her hands of course it was. "So they happened to disappear around the same time, what of it? Where is your proof that my adorable grandson was involved with any of this, you horrible little man?"

The Kazekage raised an eyebrow. "Don't you mean: Lady Chiyo's adorable grandson?"

She swung her chopstick at him. "I am _not_ in the mood, Rasa!"

Hiruzen raised his hands soothingly. "No offence was intended, Lady Chiyo. Such reports can, of course, be in error. All I ask is that the Sand accounts for the _possibility_ that it is true. In the meantime, if you could provide us with a detailed account of his abilities in the same manner as your other reports…"

The door creaked open and Chiyo spun around, her chopstick burying itself deep into the doorpost right in front of Yūra, who promptly dropped the plate of sweet beans and baked potatoes in shock.

"For goodness' sake, boy! Did nobody ever teach you to _knock_?"

* * *

It was already evening by the time Hinata came to the agreed meeting place, having spent the day helping Shino prepare for the final round of the chūnin exams. She sat down on the nearest bench, fiddling uncomfortably at the sight of the empty training ground and the memories it stirred up, and worrying faintly about the meeting that was to come. She did not have to wait long.

"Hello, Hinata." Sasuke somehow managed to appear as though he were stepping out of the darkness, despite the light of the crescent moon above. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me."

"Not – not at all, Sasuke-san." She had spent a long time trying to decide what suffix to apply to his name. In terms of social standing, they were close to equal: She was still technically heir to the Hyūga clan, even if she had been all but put aside for her far more capable younger sister, while Sasuke was still the Lord Uchiha despite his clan's demise. If she spoke respectfully to him, would he find that strange? She had never really talked to him, but they had still been in the same academy class. Should she match his own familiar tone, or would he be offended if she did?

He smiled at her. "I suppose you must be wondering what this is all about."

She averted her eyes. "F-forgive me, Sasuke-san, but I think – I think I already know the reason. You want me to tell you all I know about brother Neji… right? In case you end up facing him?" She realized with a flush of shame that she was being rude, but there was no other conceivable reason why Sasuke would want to talk to her. Besides, there was something about him that unnerved her somehow. Then again, she was also unnerved by her family, her teachers and most other adults in the Village, so that wasn't saying much.

Sasuke's smile twisted into a smirk, which somehow looked much more genuine on him. "That's right – you were always the only girl in our class who wasn't so impressed by me, weren't you?" He sat down next to her, leaving the exact amount of distance to indicate a meeting between friends – not that anyone would have mistaken it for anything more than that. "You're right," he said. "I want you to tell me everything about Hyūga Neji, particularly his strength and weaknesses, and to help me train against the Hyūga's Gentle Fist style. In exchange, I will use my Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on you that will eliminate your self-doubt and turn you into a worthy heiress to the Hyūga clan."

A small gasp of shock escaped Hinata's lips. "W-what?"

Sasuke held up an empty palm. "Pain, paralysis… illusions and delusions of madness and grandeur – all these things can be affected through genjutsu, and the Sharingan can cast the strongest genjutsu of them all. It is true that ordinary genjutsu is only temporary, but genuine emotions are no less transient: If I can impart to you the mere _suggestion_ of confidence then your mind will become used to the idea of success as opposed to failure, and what began as an illusion shall become reality in time."

She stared at him, her lips moving silently as she sat there in shock. What he had just said, what he was so casually proposing was everything she had ever wanted, and yet…

"I can't. I'm s-sorry, but I, I can't…"

"Why not?" He tilted his head to one side, curiously. "Do you think you don't deserve it?"

"That – that's not…" How could she possibly explain? Uchiha Sasuke did not seem impatient or frustrated with her the way her tutors usually were, but even so he could not possibly understand. He had grown up as a genius, always excelling at everything he did, while she struggled every day just to avoid having to disappoint her family's already low expectations of her. It had only been when she joined her genin team that she finally found a small measure of peace, of belonging. She had made a vow then, a silent promise to herself that she would never run away from her fears and failures again.

"My t-teacher, Kurenai-sensei," she began. "She said that… that I should hold my head on high, and never look for an easy way out. That I could be anyone I wanted to, if I only tried hard enough…" She trailed off.

"Your teacher is a worthless imbecile," Sasuke said, as though describing the sky as blue. She looked at him, startled. "Or rather, she lacks the imagination to understand problems that are not her own. Strength of will is a quality that varies from person to person the same as any other – telling someone who is lost in despair to try harder is like telling someone without legs to run faster. When you see that someone is drowning, you don't give a rousing speech or ask for permission to save them." She flinched as his dark eyes bored into hers. "It's painfully obvious that your personality is simply not suited to the life of a ninja, but your friends and teachers are unwilling to point this out because it would make them seem cold and cruel, even if it means that you will die on your next mission. None of that will ever change unless a miracle occurs, and I am offering one to you right now."

She turned away. "I… I will think about it, but please… I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"If you want to think about it, you should first know what your choices are." He cupped her chin in his hand and she froze at his touch. When she turned towards him she found crimson eyes boring into hers, and as they grew to consume her vision the world transformed around her.

She was back in the centre of the great hall again, confronted with the first person to acknowledge her since her mother, the boy who had just saved her life in the Forest of Death.

 _"_ _That's why?"_ Naruto stared at her in anger and disbelief. _"If you're gonna throw your life away just because you're too stubborn to give up, well, there's nothing that could make me lose more respect for you!"_

A small gasp of pain escaped from her lips, but she could not speak to tell him he was wrong. _I wasn't being stubborn,_ she thought vainly. _I only wanted to show you that I could be strong, too…_

As if in reply a cruel, mocking sound came from behind her, and when she turned she found Neji standing there, laughing at her with his arms crossed. _"What utter nonsense. It does not matter how much a hare dreams of soaring through the sky, it still cannot grow wings and fly!"_ The ground opened up beneath her feet and she was falling, desperately flailing her arms but unable to gain any traction on the air. When she opened her eyes again she was standing on the balcony, her arms gripping the railing as she overlooked the fight below, every minute detail picked out in shades of crimson.

 _"_ _Take a good look around you, Lee. You've proved nothing!"_ Naruto was looming over his opponent, his techniques having ravaged the battlefield. _"You wanted to know if hard work and determination could overcome any obstacle, right? Well as you can see, it can't, and denying it will just get people killed!"_

Lee raised his head to face Naruto. _"You are wrong… there is nothing more noble than defying one's own destiny! It is only when you believe in the impossible that you are able to make it a reality."_

" _Enough! Why don't any of you ever fucking listen to reason?_ " Naruto stepped forward and kicked Lee in the head, and Hinata winced in pain as though she was the one who crumpled backwards in a heap. When she looked again she was running up the stairs, fleeing from Naruto as she always did. She arrived at the top of the balcony, but he was still staring at her with accusing eyes from the bottom of the steps. _"What's wrong with you people? Don't you get that life is more important than some dumb feelings?"_

She struggled vainly to find words to defend herself, but it was Sakura who answered in her stead. _"Naruto,"_ she said, _"I think you're underestimating just how much people can be hurt by 'mere words'."_

The world turned and suddenly Naruto was standing in the centre of the arena again, scoffing loudly. _"Do you hear the fear and pity in her voice? She's afraid of what my words will do to you – that I'll crush your dreams and spirit. Is there anything more damning than your own teammate's pity?"_

 _It's not real,_ she tried to tell herself, but she knew that Sasuke could never have constructed such perfect images out of nothing. She was forced to watch as he carved apart her hopes and dreams with merciless strokes. She turned around, desperately searching for a way out, but all she found was Neji crossing his arms and smiling viciously. _"Allowing a mere commoner to lecture you, how disgraceful_. _"_

 _"_ _And there is Neji, who you said you were gonna defeat. He doesn't acknowledge you as his rival at all!"_ Naruto appeared at the bottom of the stairs again, his bright blue eyes staring directly into her own, condemning her. _"You know what? Screw this, and screw you. I don't have to deal with this crap."_

Cracks appeared all along the edges of her vision as the world shattered – the walls, the roof of the arena, everything fell apart. Darkness swelled up all around her as the ground melted and turned inky black, swallowing her – _drowning_ her in blackest despair. Right as the last of her breath escaped from her lips, she gasped and took in cool night air: She was back on the bench, sitting next to Sasuke as though nothing had happened. Slowly his red eyes faded into black once more, and he let go of her chin.

He stood up, pale moonlight falling down in thin rays around him. "Now at least you know what your choices are," he said. Then he stepped into the darkness and vanished once more.

Hinata was left there by herself on the bench, staring at the empty training ground and dimly recalling the memories it stirred up: It had been a training ground much like this one where Naruto had first acknowledged her, holding her hand as he taught her how to throw shuriken.

Sasuke was wrong. If that was how Naruto truly felt, then it was not really a choice at all.

* * *

Hayate finished tying up his boots. He draped his sword belt around his shoulder, checking to make sure that the hilt was within easy reach as always. Back when he was still a chūnin he had made it a habit to touch the hilt of his sword whenever he left the house, but now he had to stop himself from checking it four times each morning, as well as in the evening and afternoon. Just as he was about to finally step through the door and out into the evening air, a soft voice spoke up behind him.

"You should not go out in this weather, Hayate. There is a reason the Third asked you to be proctor for the chūnin exams, and not to patrol the rooftops at night."

He turned around and smiled at the sight that greeted him: There she stood, clad in full Anbu gear and unrecognizable but for a strand of purple hair that peaked out between her mask and hood, all set to go on a mission which she could not even tell him about – and she was worried about _him_ over a little rain!

"Right now there is no exam to be a proctor off," he reminded her. "And, uhm… if it's danger you're concerned about, you should not even be in the same house as me, Yūgao."

"I am an Anbu of Konoha," she declared, stepping closer still. "I married death a long time ago."

He smiled and kissed the top of her white mask. "Get a divorce."

Once outside, he ran up the walls of the nearest building, feeling vaguely guilty for the muddy footprints he left behind. He held out until he reached the very top of the structure before he allowed himself to start coughing. The fit went on for nearly half a minute, and his throat and lungs burned afterwards, but the soft rain pattering on his face and hair served to cool his forehead down.

If anything the moisture in the air was helping his lungs, he decided. Yūgao had been silly to worry.

He leaped from rooftop to rooftop as he continued his patrol, the wind brushing through his hair and banishing the last of his drowsiness as he felt himself come alive once more. There was the smell of fish rising up from a restaurant down in the streets below, the carefree laughter of civilians echoing of the walls all around him as he went. A crescent moon gave watch in the sky above him.

 _"_ _The moon always changes shape,"_ she had said on their first night together. _"A promise made beneath something that fickle is bound to get distorted."_

 _"_ _We just see it that way,"_ he had answered. _"The moon is always full, even if a part of it is hidden. The moon is the moon and a promise a promise – that will never change."_

He landed on the next rooftop, and took a moment to clear his throat once more. Just as he was about to leave again, he noticed movement in the corner of his eye: A figure in black darting in the direction of the Hokage residence. By itself that would not have been too unusual – this was Konoha after all – but this one had come from the area where the Sand ninjas had been housed, and which had been placed under strong surveillance. That left him with a dilemma: Either he could run to the nearest watch post and report what he had seen, or he could pursue the suspect to find out what was really going on.

But dilemmas were for civilians, and so Hayate cast the shadow clone technique.

The world shimmered around him, and then he was watching himself vanish in the direction of the nearest watch post. With his cloned body he set off in pursuit of his suspect, the outlines of the world growing ever sharper as he focused chakra to his senses. No sooner did he catch the enemy's scent than he cast the transformation technique, wrapping light around him like a cloak until he could scarcely see his own hands. He found his quarry lurking at the base of the Hokage residence, fumbling along the wall as though searching for a hidden entrance until he suddenly sank through the wall and into the ground.

Hayate silently dropped to the ground and ran up to where his quarry had vanished, his exhilaration replaced by dread as he realized he had not been paranoid after all. The enemy had left no trace behind, except… he traced a finger down the stone wall, which felt strangely granular to the touch. He pressed his hand to the surface, and the whole segment collapsed in a cloud of fine dust that invaded his nose and mouth and nearly caused him to go down in another fit of coughing.

With one arm guarding his face he descended down the narrow tunnel, expelling chakra from his feet to stop himself from falling through the dust. Before long a chamber filled with stone pillars opened up before him, but the ground was far too even to be natural and too bare to be intended for human use. He ducked his head to enter, almost having to crouch under the low-hanging stone that had to be the foundation of the Hokage residence, and that was when he saw his target: Something which he had taken to be a shadow was flitting from one support pillar to the next, draped in a black cloak and hood that blended with the darkness as though it were part of it, moving about and doing something to the walls – and then stopped, and turned around. A baleful crimson eye blazed in his direction.

Hayate ducked low and dashed forward, zigzagging between the pillars even as he formed the seals for the shadow clone technique. Two more of his bodies darted left and right as they circled the enemy, each casting the regular clone technique and adding illusory copies to the mix, and then they all drew their swords. The phantom army leaped out from between the pillars and fell upon the enemy in unison, a dance of a dozen blades that was impossible to defend against, and landed on empty space. His enemy was gone, vanished into nothingness.

 _A shadow clone? Or some kind of teleportation?_

He and his shadow clones turned around and scanned their surroundings, swords at the ready for any ambush or trap. Almost nothing could be seen in the oppressive darkness, except… a small light went up on the other side of the room, not unlike a candle being lit. Then another, and another – hundreds, thousands of them, lining the walls and pillars of the stone chamber, lighting up the room like a swarm of glow flies.

Hayate tried to cry out in alarm, but he must have inhaled some of the dust because he went down coughing. One by one his shadow clones vanished, until he was the last one left. His hands were slick with blood.

The explosive tags detonated with the fury of a thousand suns.


	32. Politics and Principles

A plume of black smoke rose up from the wreckage of the Hokage residence. Naruto stared at it alongside the stunned crowd that had gathered before it, ninjas and civilians alike struck dumb at the sight of the gaping wound that had been torn through the heart of Konoha. Naruto knew of war and had experienced the horrors of conflict between ninjas first-hand, but it was altogether something else to see it brought to their very doorstep – to find it in Konohagakure, in the Land of Fire, where the sun always shines.

Somewhere in the crowd, Naruto saw Ino whisper something into Sasuke's ear, and the last of the Uchiha went pale at the news. Naruto did not need to hear the words to know her meaning: Rumours had been going around the Village of a man with baleful crimson eyes who clad himself in shadows, a man who had butchered his own clan: It was said in hushed whispers that Uchiha Itachi had returned to the Leaf. Naruto did not know where the rumour had come from, much less whether he believed it.

He kept staring at the black smoke, the sight filling him with an almost familiar sense of dread. The sheer wanton destruction, the indiscriminate damage, to kill just one man… He remembered gawking at the extravagance of Tenten's explosive projectile; how many resources had been expended for this one desperate attempt? In a world of Shinobi for whom individual strength meant everything, what kind of ninja would admit to themselves that they could not kill a foe with their own skill and cunning, and instead resort to such crude brute force? Those were the methods of a barbarian, a civilian, a monster.

It was exactly what Naruto would have done, if he had wanted to assassinate the Hokage.

* * *

"This emergency council meeting is now called to order," the Third Hokage announced.

Morino Ibiki and the rest of the council sat down along the oval table in the Administrative section of the Academy building, their chairs scraping along the wooden floor in unison.

The Hokage sat down at the head of the table, calmly lighting up his pipe as though he had not nearly been assassinated a few hours ago. "Morino Ibiki," he said, puffing out a string of grey smoke. "As acting Head of the Anbu, I would like you to explain the situation."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." Ibiki folded his hands in a steeple and looked each of the weary-yet-alert council members in the eye, making sure he had their attention. "Shortly before midnight there was an explosion that demolished the Hokage's private residence. Around the same time an unidentified agent was spotted near the Hokage residence by the chūnin exam proctor, Gekko Hayate, who we believe to have died in the explosion." Hayate's shadow clone had clearly believed himself to be the original, which was what truly concerned Ibiki: If the enemy had caught Hayate in a genjutsu right from the start, why permit him to follow at all? That implied darker forces at work.

" _Demolished?_ You should call it what it is: A blatant attack on our Village by a foreign power." This irate remark came from the bandaged old shinobi known as Shimura Danzō, who was seated opposite Ibiki. The man was already starting to look aggravated, which could only be a good thing – strong emotions and logic rarely mixed, in Ibiki's experience, even for someone as cold and ruthless as Danzō. "Hiruzen, this saboteur was coming straight from the compound where _you_ allowed the Sand to gather their forces – despite my every warning! Now this brave young shinobi has paid the price for your naivety."

The Third took a long drag on his pipe. "I am indeed grateful for your council, Danzō: Had you not insisted that I conduct my daily activities with a Shadow Clone while keeping my true body hidden, it most likely would not have ended well for me. However, it is far too soon to conclude that this unfortunate event-"

"Too soon?" The side of the man's face that was not wrapped in bandages contorted. "They brought an _entire army_ with them, Hiruzen. Do you know how many of those retainers are secret Shinobi?" He cast his gaze around the room. " _All of them._ The acrobats are Anbu, the geisha are kunoichi and even the assistant cooks are genin. And as for that old woman, the new member of the Kazekage's council? I am almost certain that she is none other than elder Chiyo of the Honoured Siblings!"

There were sudden intakes of breath, hushed whispers and murmurs of disbelief all around the table. Even the Hokage looked shocked. "The Sand brought the Doom of Tanzaku Castle right into our Village? I cannot believe they would dare do anything so brazen – No, Danzō, surely you must be mistaken!"

That was Ibiki's cue: "I asked Yamanake Inoichi as well as the noble Hyūga clan to keep an eye on the Sand," he said, gesturing towards his loyal subordinate and the head Hyūga twit respectively. "If anything untoward was happening, I am sure they would have informed us immediately."

They all turned to look at Lord Hyūga Hiashi, who frowned and stared dead ahead, his eerie white eyes allowing him to see all that was happening in the room. He could have been watching girls bathe in Konoha's bathhouses for all Ibiki knew.

"It is true that the Hyūga have been observing the Sand ninjas since their arrival," the man said in the clipped formal tones typical of the Hyūga. "We have noticed no fluctuations in chakra that would accompany the use of a transformation technique. However, I should point out that the Byakugan would not be able to detect more, shall we say… _civilian_ methods of disguise."

"Exactly," said Danzō, sounding as vindicated as a doomsayer faced with a falling sky. "Do you see the truth now, Hiruzen? The Sand is moving against us, plotting our destruction and amassing their army right beneath our very noses. We must launch an offensive strike immediately – if we combine our forces and strike in the dead of night while they lie sleeping, this will all be over before morning."

"I see," said the Third, taking a drag on his pipe. "And tell me, old friend, what are these forces of yours that you refer to? Surely you don't mean the Root division of the Anbu, which you assured me to have been disbanded long ago. Come to think of it, I cannot imagine how you would have any suspicions regarding the elder lady's identity or the Kazekage's entourage without your old spy network – surely you don't expect me to take such a rash course of action based on mere hearsay and guesswork?"

Danzō gritted his teeth in frustration, and Ibiki smiled thinly at the sight, which succeeded in aggravating the old Shinobi even more. In truth he did not disagree with him: Allowing the Sand to amass such strength in the Village could only cause trouble further down the line, and it made them look weak besides. However, admitting that would only strengthen Danzō's position in the council, which he as leader of the loyalist Anbu could not allow.

No, it was not simple spite that motivated Ibiki – rather, he knew from experience that Danzō's ideals were so diametrically opposed to the Hokage's that opposing the man could only ever be good for the Leaf, even if some sacrifices had to be made along the way.

That and riling Danzō up was just too much _fun_.

"I call for a motion to have the Sand removed from the Leaf," Danzō bit out. "Their forces, even discounting the possible inclusion of Elder Chiyo and the One-tailed Sand Spirit, simply present too great a threat for us to ignore." There were murmurs of assent at this pronouncement, which worried Ibiki. If the Third had any sense at all, he would ignore Danzō's call for a vote and simply-

"Very well," the Third said. "Let us go around the table. What do you think, Koharu?"

"I quite agree with Lord Danzō on this matter," the old woman said primly, siding with the Third's rival as usual. "It was not so long ago that the Sand was our enemy – it is far too soon to trust them with this much power." Her partner Homura nodded firmly along, which was unsurprising since the bland old man had never dared disagree with her on anything in his life.

Ibiki's burned hands twitched at the sight: How the Third could permit his own former teammates to oppose him so blatantly was utterly beyond him. Anyone could make a mistake in trusting the wrong person – Ibiki's own scars were proof enough of that – but to permit the same friends to betray you over and over again was beyond foolish.

"I see," the Third said calmly. "And what is your view, Ibiki?"

Ibiki leaned forward, considering his words carefully. "The Anbu find that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that the Sand is responsible for this attack. Furthermore, challenging the Kazekage with unfounded accusations could cause a rift that would fracture our newly formed alliance and endanger the Leaf. In order to secure our future, I vote against the motion."

He sat back, satisfied that he had made the Third's case successfully. Unfortunately, his dual roles as head of Torture and Interrogation as well as acting commander of the Anbu did not afford him multiple votes. In his place Danzō would no doubt have assigned a crony to each of those positions, thereby increasing his power in the council, but that was the price Ibiki paid for ensuring that those jobs were done _right_.

Besides him, Inoichi inclined his head in agreement. "In my professional opinion as Head of Intelligence under Morino Ibiki, I second this assessment. The Yamanaka clan votes against the motion."

"Very well," said the Third. "And Chōza, how does the noble Akimichi clan vote?"

Everyone turned to the enormous head of the Akimichi clan, whose eyes went wide with fear as though he had found himself on his own family's dinner plates. "Ahhh, that's to say…" Danzō was giving Chōza a threatening glare, but Ibiki was not overly concerned – not only because he himself was far more terrifying than Danzō could ever hope to be, but also because the Akimichi were lifelong friends with both the Nara and the Yamanaka, the latter of which had just voted against the motion.

Sure enough, the massive man turned to the Nara clan head sitting next to him, sweat pouring from his forehead in litres. "Ah, Shikaku. What uh, what do you think? How I should vote, I mean."

The jōnin commander frowned, stroking his dark goatee in thought. "I think you should make the decision you yourself feel most comfortable with, Chōza."

Ibiki could have punched the man. _You imbecile! What's even the point of lugging that sack of blubber around if you're not going to tell him what to do?_ If Chōza had one redeeming quality it was that he knew his own limitations, which made him infinitely more tolerable than those decrepit elders the Third kept around, but the supposedly brilliant Nara clan head did not even know to use that to his advantage.

The Third nodded approvingly. "Indeed, it is always important for us to follow our own hearts, and to let the ancestral Will of Fire guide our thoughts and actions. So, how shall it be, Chōza?"

"I think… I think…" The man pulled out a giant kerchief and dabbed his forehead. "I think that maybe it's not such a good idea to keep all those Sand ninjas here?" He flinched away from Ibiki's murderous glare.

"Very good," said the Third, and he actually sounded _pleased_. Had nobody ever explained to the man that politics was an extension of _war_? There was no denying that the world was better off for the fact that Sarutobi Hiruzen had been chosen as Third Hokage instead of Danzō, but what was even the point of having principles if you refused to defend them? Where was the sense in setting rules that only one side ever obeyed? Each time the Third won a fight it was as though he would bend over backwards to reduce his winnings, while every victory for Danzō was a crushing blow that took the Leaf years to recover from.

Next to vote was Nara Shikaku, whose eyes were closed in thought or from lack of sleep. "As jōnin commander of our regular forces, I agree with Morino Ibiki's assessment of the situation. The Nara clan votes against the motion." This infuriated Ibiki even more: If Shikaku had turned against him, he could at least have understood, but now he and his fat friend might as well not have shown up at all.

All eyes turned to Lord Hyūga Hiashi, who held the last remaining swing vote. Hiashi was considered a moderate voice on the council, but only to the extent that Danzō's views were so extreme that Hiashi's looked mild by comparison. The man's face betrayed not a hint of consternation or pressure as the council waited for his answer, though the veins around his pale eyes grew ever thicker as they pulsed with chakra.

"I agree with lord Danzō that we should not invite danger into our Village needlessly," the man said at length. "However, I also agree that we should avoid insulting our new allies. We could, of course, find some pretext to move the Kazekage's retinue out of the Village…" He slowly tapped his fingers on his armrest, and Ibiki raised three fingers under the table in response. "Although, since we outnumber them so greatly, I suppose they do not pose much of a threat regardless." Ibiki raised one more finger, and that must have been more than Danzō was offering because Hiashi nodded in reply. "Yes, I suppose it's best if we continue to observe the Sand for now. The Hyūga clan votes against the motion."

 _Success!_ Ibiki gave Danzō his most self-assured sneer, and that finally did it: The bandaged old man exploded from his seat, the visible side of his face twisting in fury. "This is madness! You people would invite an enemy army into our Village? Have you all lost your minds? Or have you forgotten how the Sand ravaged our lands and tortured our people? What elder Chiyo did to Tanzaku Castle alone would be reason enough to reduce their entire bastard nation to ash, and yet you would dare invite her _here?_ "

"Calm yourself Danzō," the Hokage said soothingly. "Of course we all share your strong feelings, but-"

"Be silent!" Flecks of spittle flew from Danzō's mouth. "We fought three Wars, Hiruzen! Three times our enemies tried to destroy all that we hold dear, and three times our friends and family shed bitter blood on the battlefield to throw them back! Three times we gave up the chance to destroy our foes and signed peace treaties in hopes of a better tomorrow, and yet three times they threw it back in our faces and _laughed!_ The First was a fool to believe in a peaceful resolution, but even he had the sense to kill Uchiha Madara in the end. It was the Second who gave us all that we have, who founded the Anbu and the Academy and finally made us into a nation to be feared, but he made the one mistake in his life when he chose as successor a man who loves his enemies more than he loves his friends!"

The entire room fell silent, and the colour slowly drained from Danzō's face as he realized he had gone too far.

"Lord Danzō, you should apologize immediately," Kotaru said, scandalized. "That was entirely out of line." Homura nodded firmly along. "I'll say," he murmured. "That was most – most irregular!"

Just as Danzō looked about to sit down and apologize, Ibiki stepped in. "Let us not be too harsh on the poor lord," he said. "I'm sure Danzō did not mean to call our great leader a traitor – and if his nightly activities had not left him so exhausted, I am certain he would never have given voice to such treasonous-sounding thoughts." He gave Danzō his best shit-eating grin. "As long as he apologizes to us for his behaviour right here and now, I see no need for the council to punish him for his insolence."

The look on Danzō's face was everything Ibiki had ever hoped for, and so much more. The bandaged old man opened his mouth, choked back whatever he had intended to say, and stormed out of the room while spluttering something incoherent which might or might not have been some sort of apology.

" _Most_ irregular," Homura said again. As everyone else stared on in shock, Ibiki basked in the warm glow.

Truly, victory was sweet.


	33. Pride and Purpose

That night, Naruto dreamed of fire.

The world was gripped in a raging inferno, ash raining from the sky in black sheets and choking all life from the earth. All around him there were familiar faces, friends and classmates who wandered the world like ghosts, but in their eyes shone the crimson light of the Sharingan. Though he called out to them, they did not answer.

Sakura was there too, but she could not see him, for she had no eyes at all. Shino's mouth opened, and a swarm of insects poured out like a plague, emptying him from the inside out. Kiba and his hound had merged into a feral monster, lashing out at everything around him. Ino whispered to him from inside his own head, her voice a high-pitched wail like steam from a broken pipe. Gaara's sand gathered in a cloud, forming into a single lidless eye that watched them all from above. He blinked and looked again, and then he saw that it was not Gaara's eye but Haku's ice portal, gazing down at him with a thousand frozen eyes.

He fled. It was cold and dark, and the fire burned his skin even as the ice turned his thoughts to mud.

Darkness followed him as he ran through the streets, pursued by an enemy that would not be seen and could not be fought. Whether he was getting away or moving closer he did not know. It was a nightmare and he knew it to be so, and yet still he ran, for what else was there to do?

He woke up to the final day of the Chūnin Exams, and immediately wished he could go back to sleep.

-o-

Somehow, despite seeing the massive building almost every day, Naruto had forgotten just how _large_ Konoha's arena was. Though it was used just a few times per year for training, exams and ceremonies, the circular structure was kept in perfect condition at all times, and could easily house the entire Village.

"You're late," the man guarding the entrance said. He was wearing a standard chūnin vest, but his milky white eyes revealed him to be a member of the Hyūga clan – no doubt to verify the identity of anyone attempting to enter under the transformation technique. "You've already missed the opening ceremony, the Third Hokage's inaugural speech, the Sand's parade, and the concluding lecture on safety procedures."

"Sorry." Naruto had not _planned_ to miss the morning activities, but he had told himself he needed just five more minutes in bed. He had ended up staring at the ceiling with his eyes wide open, repeating the mantra of 'five more minutes' until at last there had been no more minutes left.

The Hyūga shoved a bundle of papers into Naruto's hands. "Here's your ticket, your schedule, a map of the arena and a copy of your waiver form," he said. "Your seat is in quadrant A, column seventeen. Do not talk to anyone you do not recognize during the tournament. Attendants will come by with food and drinks that have been checked for poison at regular intervals – contact them if you need anything else."

"Uh, right," said Naruto. Somehow, his head was still foggy with exhaustion despite the stress. "Got it."

He stumbled through the halls and up the stairs in a daze. Everywhere there were people, endless people, buzzing and pushing past him in their hundreds, all while clamouring in an incomprehensible monotone like a waterfall's relentless cascade. It only got worse when he emerged at the top of the arena: The entire stadium was filled to the brim, endless rows of seats filled with thousands of people and with yet more coming in every second. He stared at the papers in his hands, but the letters and figures blurred and danced in front of his eyes as though they were squirming to escape his notice.

"Hey, dropout."

Naruto turned around in sharp relief, never imaging himself to be so glad to hear that voice. "Sasuke! And - oh, Kakashi-sensei."

"Heya." His masked teacher greeted him with a jaunty wave of his hand, carefree as ever, while Sasuke just stood there and smirked. "How's it going? Are you all set for your match? Glad to hear it."

"No thanks to you," Naruto bit back. If Kakashi wanted to know how he was doing he could have checked up on him at any point during the last month. "Some sensei _you_ are."

"Hey, what was I supposed to do, train you and Sakura to fight each other?" The jōnin sighed and shook his head. "You got one of the Sannin to teach you. Sasuke had to make do with me. Don't complain."

Not wanting to press it any further, Naruto turned to his Uchiha teammate.

"So, how did the training go? I mean, those Sand Ninjas are all crazy, and even if you defeat Temari you still have to face Hyūga Neji after that, and he seems to have it out for you too." He frowned. "What's up with that, anyway?"

Sasuke shrugged with clearly forced lightness. "Oh, you know: It's one of those ridiculous age-old family feuds." He waved his hands dismissively. "Two noble clans, each vying to prove they're the greater and more noble – I think it's moronic, but I suppose if your entire sense of self-worth is tied up in your status as nobility because you have no actual talent of your own, it would seem pretty important."

Naruto followed his eyes to the other end of the arena, where he could just barely make out a figure dressed in white robes – Hyūga Neji seemed to be staring in their direction, though he could not possibly have heard what Sasuke said from such a distance. Naruto frowned in thought at the sight.

"Right," said Kakashi, coughing as he looked for an escape. "Well, I suppose I'd better go check up on Sakura." His hand was already reaching for the perverted book in his pocket as he body-flickered away.

"…useless bastard," Naruto muttered under his breath, which got an amused snort out of Sasuke. He shook his head. "So anyway, if your clan is so far above it all, how come the Hyūga mostly have a grudge against you and not the other noble clans? Something doesn't quite add up there, Lord Uchiha."

Sasuke's lips twisted into a smirk. "I suppose there might have been some old dispute regarding the power of our eyes and the origin thereof. You see, the Hyūga claim that the Sharingan is but a minor mutation of the Byakugan: A rather interesting claim, chronologically speaking, as the Sharingan can be traced back to the first son of the first ninja." A small twinkle of amusement entered his eyes as he glanced at Neji. "To be fair, our version of the Byakugan's history might not be wholly correct either – I suppose it does seem a little self-serving, to say that a lone Uchiha spawned the Hyūga clan in a single night of drunken debauchery – so perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle, and it was just the one affair with a scullery maid and not a whole den of women of professionally ill repute."

"Uh-huh," said Naruto, who was starting to feel rather sympathetic to the Uchiha clan's ancient rivals. "So if the Hyūga are all supposedly descended from this one Uchiha, and bloodline abilities are recessive, how would… I mean, how would that even _work_ , exactly?"

"That is an _excellent_ question," Sasuke said brightly, "the answer to which I think would help a great deal in explaining why the members of the Hyūga clan all look so very, _very_ much alike."

At this point Neji descended into a sputtering fit of indignant fury, and it finally dawned on Naruto that _of course_ the Hyūga clan would be able to _read lips_. Together with their wall-piercing telescopic vision, that gave them the ability to observe and overhear any person in the Village at any time.

He recalled Kakashi's lecture on always holding your hand over your mouth when discussing sensitive matters, and he remembered how quickly the Anbu had managed to find him and Mizuki in the forest, but the pieces only now all clicked together: Naruto was the son of the Fourth Hokage and host to Kurama, _of course_ the Hokage would have ordered the Hyūga clan to always keep an eye on him.

And now he wondered: Had he ever even had a single moment of privacy in his life?

He forced his attention back to the furious Hyūga down in the stands, averting his thoughts before anyone could catch on to the fact that he knew. "What uh, what is he yelling about, do you think?"

"Hold on." Sasuke activated his Sharingan and squinted at the screaming Hyūga. "He seems to be saying something about my face, and… wearing a hat? All that spittle is really obscuring my vision, here."

"Maybe he's saying he tips his hat to you because you have such a nice looking face," Naruto proffered.

"That seems likely." Sasuke smirked again. Then he shook his head and looked away. "Well, I'd better go look for Kakashi before he manages to escape us entirely. I'll see you in the final round, dropout."

"Wait," said Naruto, pausing briefly as Sasuke's meaning sank in. "Uh, about my seating, do you know…"

"Seeing how all examinees have been given front row seats, down would be a good start." Sasuke gave a lazy wave as he sauntered away, before vanishing with the body-flicker technique.

 _That guy is spending way too much time with Kakashi-sensei,_ Naruto decided.

He found the other rookies and their teachers in the front row as Sasuke had said, and Naruto breathed a sigh of relief when he saw who was seated next to him. "Hey, Shikamaru!" He realized in surprise that he knew the large bearded man besides him as well. "Oh, and Asuma-sensei! I didn't know you guys would be here too." The jōnin sensei of team ten had been instructing Naruto's shadow clones on wind-style ninjutsu, though Naruto still lacked the fine chakra control needed to master his famous wind-blade technique.

"Hey kid," Asuma greeted him amiably. "Just because my students all failed doesn't mean they don't get to watch the finals. Besides, I've got a bet going on with Shikamaru about the final winner of the tournament," he added with a grin. "Loser has to pay for our next team dinner at the Yakiniku Q."

"Yeah," said Shikamaru, not bothering to look up. "Just watching and figuring out the strategy involved is not so bad actually – in fact it's kind of like playing a game of shogi. If this was all I had to do all day I wouldn't mind too much, though I guess that's what my dad does already, what with him being jōnin commander and all." He closed his eyes and cupped his hands together in an 'O' shape, seemingly deep in thought. "Now simmer down, I still have to figure out who I want to bet on."

"What is he doing?" The question came from a curious looking woman further down the line, with untamed black hair and a daring dress made of elaborate wrappings covered in a pattern of rose thorns. The jōnin sensei of team eight, Naruto guessed. "Is he using some kind of hand seal?"

Asuma laughed. "No Kurenai, it's not a technique. It's just something he does whenever he thinks deeply about something: I once tricked him into taking an intelligence test in the form of a game, and it turned out the speed at which he thought was beyond the level of genius. Unlike anything I've ever seen or heard of, aside from the rest of his family of course – I'm told his dad is just as brilliant."

"Wait," Naruto said slowly, "So he and his entire clan of secret-technique-using ninjas are able to think at a speed that nobody else has ever managed, but only _after_ moving their hands in a specific way that looks exactly like a hand sign… and he's managed to convince you that it's _not_ a ninja technique?"

What were even the odds of something like that being a coincidence? _Sakura would know the answer,_ he thought glumly. But it had to be close to zero.

"Uhm," said Asuma. He looked to Kurenai for help, but she only gave him an artful smile in reply.

"You people are too noisy," Shikamaru said as he exited his stance. "Anyway, no matter how I look at it, I got to pick Gaara as the final winner. A guy like that just… cannot be defeated."

Naruto was about to question this when the examiner called out from below. "Everyone, please prepare yourselves for the first match of today's Chūnin Exam! _Aburame Shino versus Hyūga Neji!"_

As the audience burst out in deafening applause, Naruto realized he did not even know the name of this new examiner, after seeing the last three come and go – though in truth he found it difficult to care.

He watched as the two contestants faced each other down in the centre of the arena. Rumour had it that Hyūga Neji was not only the strongest genin of his year, but also the most promising member of his clan, as nobody had inherited the Byakugan as strongly as him. On the other hand, nobody ever so much as whispered of Aburame Shino, to the point where you had to actively remember that he was there at all, and Naruto could not help but wonder if that did not make him a better ninja still.

That, and Naruto had seen Shino single-handedly hold off _Gaara of the Desert_ in the Forest of Death.

The silence was broken by Hyūga Neji, who scoffed loudly. "Lady Hinata's noble protector… I suppose you imagine yourself quite fortunate, to have been granted by fate the opportunity to avenge lady Hinata's honour in this fight." Naruto remembered again how eager this boy had seemed to tear Hinata apart during the primaries, and how alien it had seemed to him that anyone would want to do so.

"That seems unnecessary," Shino replied calmly, "seeing how you failed to wound her in the slightest."

Shino's flowing robes and hood left almost none of his skin visible, and when his insects poured forth his form was obscured further still. The parasitic beetles swarmed around him as though they were an extension of his body, which Naruto reflected might well be the case from what he had seen so far.

"Is that so? I suppose there is no merit in seeking to injure someone who can be made to falter by as much as a stern glare. Tell me: How does your family stomach the fact that the noble Aburame clan's heir is subordinate to someone so hopelessly inadequate to her role? I imagine their wounded pride is a bitter pill to swallow – or are you as much a disappointment in their eyes as she?"

"We are all subordinate to the power you call fate," Shino replied. "Why? Because whether it concerns ninjas or insects, each one of us has a role to perform in life, and a queen is no more valuable than the drones in her collective. The only exception is a drone which has lost its function: I find that those are best culled early, and harvested as a rich source of protein."

Neji glowered at him but said nothing, his eyes whitening as he assumed an unfamiliar taijutsu stance.

"If you are both ready…" The examiner slashed his hand downwards. "Begin!"

The swarm of insects flew at Neji like a black cloud, but the Hyūga rolled underneath it and threw himself at his opponent. Twin blades flashed out from Shino's flowing robes in response, curved and serrated like an insect's pincers. The hooded boy slashed at his opponent, each stroke following the other in a flawless web of steel that forced Neji back while having to evade the insects at the same time. Though the Hyūga ducked and weaved, he could find no opening to attack.

Naruto stared at the sight in confusion. "I don't get it. Why doesn't the Hyūga pull out a weapon of his own? He's at a huge reach disadvantage like this."

Shikamaru shook his head. "The Hyūga don't really use weapons. They have their own Gentle Fist style, which uses the Byakugan to detect their opponent's chakra points and closes them off by forcing their own chakra into their body with their fingertips."

"What? That's stu-" _Not_ stupid, Naruto quickly corrected himself. A technique like that might not be well-suited to single combat, but it would be invaluable in capturing enemy ninjas alive, since you never knew what secret techniques they might otherwise use to escape even without being able to move their arms and legs. Couple that with their eyes' information gathering ability and the Hyūga were the perfect clan to assist the Anbu and the Hokage in making unwanted people disappear into the night. He glanced towards Lord Hyūga Hiashi, who was sitting in a seat of honour in the front row, watching the fight with an impassionate gaze. _No wonder they're considered a noble clan, with a power like that…_

But then, the Aburame were considered a noble clan too – and perhaps for exactly the same reason.

More and more insects found their way to Neji's body, try as he might to avoid them all, and it was starting to look like the Hyūga would be drained dry of chakra before he could so much as touch his opponent. At last the older boy charged his enemy with apparent desperation. Shino readied his blades for a counter, but at the last second Neji drove his foot into the dirt and used his momentum to _spin_ on the spot: Chakra erupted from every one of his chakra points until he was at the centre of a vortex that blew away everything around it, killing all nearby insects and hurling Shino backwards. Shino tried to regain his footing but his swords were out of position and Neji was already in front of him, one hand lunging for Shino's heart with a triumphant sneer on his lips.

Neji's hand speared through his chest, and Shino exploded in a cloud of insects.

Neji instantly dodged to the side as shuriken came hurtling out of the swarm of beetles behind him. The swarm coalesced into a humanoid figure before scattering once more, revealing an unharmed Shino standing in the centre with both his blades outstretched in challenge.

"Is he… is he _made_ of bugs?" Naruto remembered seeing Shino's body disintegrate into insects back in the Forest of Death, and shuddered. He could all too easily imagine the boy having lived there all along, not as a ninja but as a monstrous swarm that one day elected to take on human form…

"Nah," said Shikamaru, "it's a trick: He hid his real body in the swarm when he first attacked Neji, leaving a shadow clone behind – only he used his insects as a base instead of an element like water or earth, so when the clone was destroyed his bugs reappeared. He's pretending to be stronger than he really is."

 _Right,_ Naruto thought as he watched the battle below. _He's just a really good impression of a monster…_

Neji charged forward again, and this time Shino's defence was much more frantic. His blades struggled to hold his enemy far enough at bay, and only a handful of insects settled on Neji at a time so as to prevent him from killing them all the way he had before. Time seemed to slow as Shino's step faltered, and Neji drove himself into his guard and _spun_ , erupting into a nexus of destructive chakra that hurled Shino backwards and sent him crashing into the ground, his swords flying far out of reach.

"You surprise me, Aburame," the Hyūga drawled as he advanced on his fallen opponent. "With all your talk of accepting your lot in life, I would have expected you to give up sooner on a fight you clearly cannot win." He plucked one of the flying beetles out of the air, dangling it between his fingertips before crushing it and flicking it away in distaste. "You refer to these insects as your allies, do you not? Why not forfeit the match and spare as many of them as you can?"

"You misunderstand." Shino struggled to his feet, leaving his blades discarded on the ground. "It is true that we refer to the lives of these insects as equal in value to our own… however, our meaning is far different from how you seem to interpret it."

Neji came to an abrupt halt, and as Naruto focused chakra to his eyes he could see why: Coils of almost invisibly thin wire had descended on the Hyūga, held up by the swarm of flying beetles. Neji cut through the wires with a contemptuous slash of his hand, yet more still were being dropped in loose coils around him, his bounds drawn tighter by the second even as he struggled to sever them all.

"Allow me to show you what I mean." Shino raised his hand and allowed one of the beetles to land on his index finger. "By itself, this drone is adrift, without a hive to give it meaning or purpose – and without purpose, what reason has it to exist? It might as well not have been born at all."

As the wires coiled around Neji he spun in place once more, but the vortex of chakra that swirled around him dragged the coils of wire with it, drawing it tighter around him even as he struggled to break free.

"Yet what if I were to grant this insect a mission, a chance to serve the greater whole?" Shino reached into his robes and produced an explosive tag, which he placed in the beetle's waiting pincers. "Observe how its wings flutter in eagerness; it has been granted joy."

"Oh Kami," breathed Naruto, half rising from his seat. "He's going to _kill_ him. We gotta stop the match."

"Why?" Shikamaru asked confusedly. "Do you know the guy or something?"

The beetle flew at Neji, dipping and straining under the weight of its burden, yet drawing ever closer nonetheless. Neji tore at his bonds with increasing desperation, shouting, _screaming_ as his death approached ever faster until at last he tore one bleeding arm free and thrust his palm towards the insect. There was an eruption of air as an invisible force struck the beetle right as the explosion went off, scattering dead insects and broken wire in every direction. Neji was left standing in the debris, his breathing ragged and his eyes frantic as he searched for his enemy.

"We each must have our purpose," Shino concluded, as he gathered up his weapons and sheathed them within his robes. "If we lose the one given to us, we must discover ourselves anew. However, you are correct on one count: The way you are now, your life is indeed worth less to me than even a single one of my insects." He turned to face the examiner. "I forfeit the match."

As the examiner called out the result, Naruto slowly fell back into his seat and breathed out. "Kami…"

"Yeah," said Shikamaru. "It's a good thing our team already lost to you guys back in the second round. Watching Ino or Chōji face off against someone like that would be way too troublesome."

Naruto chose to ignore that remark – Shikamaru of course knew perfectly well which match was up next. He turned a nervous eye to the stands where the Sand siblings were seated: The Kazekage's daughter had defeated Kabuto with ease, leaving her the oldest of the genin by far – and thus with much more chakra than Sasuke's still undeveloped reserves. What was worse was that Sasuke would have to save his energy for the match against Neji, while Naruto doubted she would bother to do the same. _Plus there's that fan of hers…_ Not only could the weapon be used to attack and defend at the same time, but Naruto suspected it of being covered in enough seals to make it nearly indestructible.

All in all it should be a fairly straightforward match to predict, Naruto reflected.

Except that her opponent was _Uchiha_ _Sasuke_.

-o-

Sasuke emerged from the gateway under an avalanche of cheers as the crowd roared their savage exultations. A large part of the audience had come here purely to see 'the Uchiha' fight, staking their meagre savings on his life or death. If the Uchiha line ended today, they would be cheering or despairing at the transfer of money, but Sasuke himself would not be remembered. Through his eyes the crowd was reduced to the colours of the Sharingan – a crawling crimson mass crying out for yet more red.

He searched around the arena for his opponent, but soon found out that his opponent was not one to use mere stairs: A shadow crossed the arena grounds as an object drifted down from the air. Standing on top of her war fan, her black kimono and crimson obi flapped and twisted in the wind as she touched upon the ground.

"Uchiha," she announced, "you have something that belongs to the Sand."

It took a second for Sasuke to realize what she was talking about. "You mean the Uchiwa Gunbai?" The ancient war fan which had given the Uchiha their name and sigil had been passed down from generation to generation for as long as could be remembered, yet there were still those in the Sand who claimed it had originally belonged to them. "Sorry. It seems to have gotten misplaced during my clan's downfall." _Along with the greater part of our wealth and land,_ Sasuke thought bitterly. The scavengers in the Konoha Council had barely even waited for his parents' bodies to cool before they began their prowl.

"That's a shame," said Temari. "It would have made for a nice battle trophy."

Sasuke shifted into his Uchiha style combat stance. "I guess we just can't have everything we want."

"If you are both ready…" The examiner raised his hand, and Sasuke's chakra flared into life. "Begin!"

The world blurred around Sasuke as his body-flicker technique almost _hurled_ him towards his opponent, only for Temari's howling tempest to meet him head-on. He body-flickered away and tried again from a different angle, but she swung her fan in swift arcs all around her, casting gales of wind until she was in the eye of a storm; a raging hurricane that made her impossible to approach.

 _In that case…_

He flashed through the seals for the Phoenix Flower technique and spat half a dozen fireballs at her. She evaded the first three and leaped between the fourth and the fifth with all the grace of a cat, but the sixth found her in mid-air with no way to dodge. At the last second her fan swung around and intercepted the fireball, knocking it out of her path, and as she landed she flashed Sasuke a vicious grin.

"My turn."

She swung her fan with all her might, and this time the storm was like nothing he had seen before: Only his Sharingan let him make out the scythes of wind that flew at him, criss-crossed like a net of invisible knives. He body-flickered away as the blades of wind cut deep into the earth where he had stood, blowing up vast clouds of dust behind him as he ran. He retreated all the way to the small outcrop of trees, and did not stop until he had a thick tree trunk between him and his opponent.

"Coward," she called, "get back here! I thought the Uchiha were supposed to be a great warrior clan. What would your dear parents say if they saw you now? Just another little leaf, shaking with fear…"

Her wind cut into the trees, tearing the bark into pieces and scattering leaves in every direction, but his cover remained standing. _Looks like that fan gives her incredible power, but as she can't weave signs she lacks the fine control for pinpoint attacks._ Sasuke slowly slid down and rested his back against the tree, trying to calm his breathing even as her attacks rammed into the trees until they shuddered from the onslaught. Above him, bloodthirsty onlookers were joining in her cries to urge him back into the fight.

"You know," he called to her without looking around, "I can't take taunts like that seriously coming from someone who won't even dare look me in the eye." Sakura's area-effect genjutsu would actually be more effective here, he reflected morosely. _As great as the Sharingan is, it's not really a combat technique._

The savage winds relented, and the whistling in his ears was replaced by the sound of sardonic laughter. "Oh, but that's just not how it works in the Sand! You see, where I'm from people like you are taught to respect their betters: If someone of low status dared to look the Kazekage's daughter in the eye, we'd carve theirs out." There was a brief pause. "Although, you _are_ from a noble family, and you're not too bad looking… How about this? If you come out so I can beat you properly, I'll let you be my consort."

Sasuke smiled wryly, though of course she could not see it. "Sorry, I'm already accounted for."

Inwardly he cursed: His plan had been to take her out quickly, but now she had him pinned, and if he came at her he would be at a disadvantage. One wrong step and it would be his last. He looked at his hands, but they were not shaking – they had not done so since that crucial moment in the Land of Waves, right before he fought Haku amidst the snow and ice. That moment when everything changed…

"Don't be so arrogant," she scoffed. "I'm offering you a great honour here. There are ninjas in the Sand who would kill for a chance like that – to rise above their station and find some meaning in their lives." She slammed the fan into the earth with what Sasuke guessed was vexation. "You know, that's the problem with you Leaf types. You dress up as ninjas and prance around all prettily, but you have no idea what the real world is like. Someone like you wouldn't survive for two minutes out in the desert sands."

Sasuke gritted his teeth: He knew she was just trying to provoke him, but her ignorance still vexed him. "I'm sorry, what was that, _princess?"_ He glanced around his tree and followed Temari's gaze towards the balcony where the Kazekage and the Hokage were seated. "Oh, I get it now. It must have been hard, being raised as the Kazekage's heir, trained from birth and taught to be the ruler of the Sand despite being a girl. Good thing your father had two sons to rectify that mistake, don't you think?" He paused, not yet seeing the reaction he was aiming for. "Although… seeing how one of them appears to be an idiot and the other is stark raving mad, perhaps your inheritance is safe after all, princess."

For several seconds, there was deathly silence.

"See," she said at last, "this is what I mean. That thing you said just now? A smarter person would have said nothing." As Sasuke turned to face her, Temari smeared a streak of blood from her thumb across her open fan, connecting each of its three purple moons with a crimson line. She swung her fan at him, and along with the onrushing storm a spirit animal soared at Sasuke – a weasel armed with a sickle.

"Cut him to pieces, Kamatari!"

Sasuke dodged at the last second, leaping away even as an invisible line cut through the tree he hid behind, causing it to groan and tumble as it crashed into the ground. He flashed a hand seal and lightning darted from his fingertips, but the flying weasel only chittered mockingly as the current bent around its aura of wind to strike the trees behind it. It swung its weapon again and Sasuke was forced to flee, darting from tree to tree as shattered logs and branches fell all around him, cut apart by unstoppable blades of wind. Sasuke dashed out of the crop of trees only to be hurled back in as Temari sent a hurricane crashing into him. Above him, the weasel hefted its deadly sickle-blade once more.

 _No – I refuse to die to a fucking flying rodent!_

Sasuke sprang to his feet, weaving new signs as invisible blades of wind shattered tree bark in every direction. He turned and spewed forth a continuous roiling flame, a torrent of fire that pursued the flying weasel as it flitted between the tree branches, chittering all the while. Sasuke drew his sword and chased after the creature, running up the side of a tree and leaping from branch to branch as he breathed the last of his fire onto the length of his blade. He swung at the spirit animal as he ran, but it flew backwards and stayed out of his reach while its own blades of wind raced past Sasuke so close he could feel their edge upon his skin. At last Sasuke reached the tip of the last remaining tree while the weasel kept flying higher. He leaped after it with all his strength and thrust his burning blade upwards in one last desperate strike, but the creature hovered just barely out of range as it readied its own wind-sickle to eviscerate him in mid-air. Then Sasuke released his technique and the fire burst from the tip of his blade like a burning lance, engulfing the rodent in flame as it shrieked in pain.

Temari's shriek echoed throughout the arena. " _Kamatari!"_

Sasuke dropped to the ground, landing in a crouch as all around him the burning remains of the forest rained down in a cascade of fire. "I'm sorry," he said coldly, "but when you send your pets out to fight for you, they tend to die. If you had ever set foot in the real world you'd know that, princess."

Temari screamed at the top of her lungs and swung her fan once more, but Sasuke was already on the move: He sheathed his sword and body-flickered to the side and past her hurricane winds, his movements plotted perfectly through the power of the Sharingan. He formed the Tiger seal and breathed out a grand fireball at his opponent, which she raised her fan to block just as he had known she would. Then he formed the seals for Kakashi's _Chidori_ , and with a sound like a thousand chirping birds lightning coiled around his hand. As he drew his sword it ran along the length of his blade like a bolt of thunder, and as he charged at Temari she could do nothing but hide behind her fan and –

Something wet splattered across his face as he halted in shock, the world starting to move again as the chakra slowly faded from his systems. Instead of shattering her fan as planned, his blade ran down the side of Temari's waist: She had drawn back her fan at the last second and shielded it with her own body. Her left hand was on his wrist, preventing the sword from moving any further.

Her body shuddered as the last of the weapon's electricity coursed through her, drawing yet more blood from the wound.

"Why?" he asked, uncomprehending. _Why would you do something like that, just for a weapon?_

"I inherited that fan, from… from my mother," she whispered back at him. Her face was contorted with pain, but her teal eyes carried a different ache entirely. "She always… wanted me to become, Kazekage. Surely, you can understand… wanting to protect something that precious, at least a little bit?"

He nodded slowly, regarding the girl before him as though for the first time. _Yeah… yeah, I guess I do._

She turned away, pulling his sword from her waist with but a small grunt of pain, and handed the bloody weapon back to him. "I don't feel like fighting anymore," she mumbled. "I forfeit the match."

She managed to stumble all the way to the medics that had leaped into the arena, collapsing onto the stretcher of her own accord.

When the examiner finally called the match in his favour, Sasuke hardly even noticed.


	34. The Power to Protect

"Hmm, that was quite a skilled fight, wouldn't you say?" The Third Hokage took a long drag on his pipe, the way he always did when he wanted to stall for time or look thoughtful. "I'd say your daughter has great potential as a shinobi, Rasa – indeed, I feel certain she will be promoted to chūnin after this."

Rasa was not really paying attention. His eyes still lingered on the arena below where Temari had been carried off on a stretcher. Her stomach at least would be healed easily enough – Tsunade herself would see to that, he did not doubt. What she had said to the Uchiha, though… Of his three children, she was the only one old enough to remember their mother Karura, though he had half imagined that she too would have forgotten that brief time they spent together in the sun, raising her to one day take up the mantle of Kazekage… until the birth of Gaara had turned those prized memories into poison.

"Well I thought it was no good at all," Chiyo muttered besides him. "The silly girl went and got herself stabbed instead of the enemy. Seems to me a chūnin should know which end of a sword goes where."

"I thought she fought quite valiantly," Yūra said, before flinching away from Chiyo's glare. "I ah, I only meant that considering she was forced to fight the last of the Uchiha, it was not an easy match for her."

They all turned to look at the boy with the Uchiha crest on his back _(How did she lose to someone that young?)_ who was ambling back up the stands as though he did not have a care in the world. Chiyo's expression hardened as the boy joined up with his teacher, and Rasa frowned as he realized why. _This whole situation's complicated enough already, without ancient grudges thrown in as well._

Still, he sent a few specks of gold dust across the arena to sink into Hatake Kakashi's clothes and skin, just in case.

"It is time for the next match," the examiner announced. "Please enter, Gaara of the Desert and Yoroi!"

"Ah, now this should be an interesting one," Hiruzen hummed, still tugging on his pipe and puffing out small clouds of smoke. "Are you looking forward to seeing your son in action, Rasa?"

"There's nothing to be seen," he said as Gaara entered the arena. "That boy… cannot be defeated."

The examiner slashed his hand downward, and the Leaf ninja sprang into action. A handful of thrown shuriken was blocked instantly by sand blasting from the gourd on Gaara's back as the boy stood there impassively, and then the sand came rushing at Yoroi like a flood. The Leaf ninja dodged the first wave and the second, but then the sand blasted apart in every direction at once. It spread out over the entire arena until the area below appeared to be covered in a thin mist, and then each individual mote of sand homed back in on their target all at once, leaving it utterly impossible to evade them all.

Rasa idly rubbed the gold ring on his finger as he watched. He and the boy had almost the exact same ability, but Chiyo's experiments to replicate Shukaku's power had come out differently each time. The Third Kazekage had been granted mastery over iron; able to forge any weapon at a moment's notice, and Gaara had the full might of the Desert behind him, but Rasa… Rasa commanded gold. It was too soft to use as a weapon, too heavy to be practical, and above all it was far too precious to waste.

They said that the mind and soul of the shinobi determined the nature of their chakra: That hotheads ended up brandishing fire, while calm and logical people wielded water. It would be the height of irony, he reflected, if the very concerns for his country's economy that drove him to seek such power had laden him with so weak a weapon. A malign spirit's twisted sense of poetic justice, perhaps…

That very spirit was now burying its opponent under a mound of sand; the Leaf shinobi had been covered by more and more of the desert's body even as he struggled to escape. It was starting to look like Gaara would bury him alive, when suddenly the sand loosened and fell lifelessly to the ground. Yoroi burst forth and went on the offensive, casting a technique that sent a raging torrent in Gaara's direction, and although more sand rose up to block the attack it quickly became dark and heavy with water.

"I did say it would be an interesting fight," Hiruzen remarked with satisfaction. "Yoroi can drain the chakra from anything he touches, and his water will slow down your son's sand until he is no longer able to defend himself. He has the perfect skillset to fight Gaara, and he benefits from the Will of Fire: A Ninja of the Leaf will never give up, but seek a path to victory no matter what the odds may be."

As if in response, Gaara raised one arm and bade the wet sand to float up into the air like a looming thundercloud. He condensed the sand into hailstones, and hurled them down faster than gravity's pull allowed, pelting the earth around Yoroi with a heavenly onslaught. The Leaf genin desperately raised a barrier of water to block the attacks, but the hailstones rained right through and one of them crashed into his knee with a crunch of shattered bone. As he shrieked out in agony yet more hailstones pelted him into the ground, striking his arms, legs, chest and head. Then the cloud itself condensed into a jagged spear of sand that zoomed down and homed in on its target like a thunderbolt.

"Stop!" shouted the examiner. "I'm calling the match!"

"As you wish," said Gaara. He lowered his arm even as the sand speared into the Leaf ninja, impaling him in a spray of blood. "I have stopped, and so has the match, but it seems that gravity did not listen."

For a moment, there was deathly silence. Even the audience was still for once.

"See," Chiyo said at length, "I notice that the boy managed to impale the correct person in just one try. Perhaps once these exams are over he could give your daughter some pointers on how it's done?"

-o-

Naruto watched as the Leaf ninja's remains were carried away, the bile in his stomach seeming to roil and churn in an effort to escape through his mouth. He had seen Gaara kill before – he could still hear the sound of that Rain ninja's wet and bloody coughs – but this time it had been in front of everyone. Gaara had killed that Leaf Ninja right in the middle of the Arena in broad daylight and nobody had done or said anything. Even Naruto had done nothing, just sat there and watched like everybody else.

He was still sitting there, staring at the crimson spot on the earth when his match was finally announced.

"If the participants would move into the arena and get ready…"

As Naruto descended the stairs to the arena, he tried to focus his thoughts on the trial ahead, having barely considered his upcoming match in detail – his mind flinching away from the painful prospect when he tried. Yet no matter what she had prepared this last month, Naruto did not see how Sakura could possibly hope to defeat him: She was a support ninja, skilled in medical techniques and illusions by virtue of her perfect chakra control, but a fighter she was not. Naruto was a front-line brawler, with incredible stamina and healing afforded by the most powerful spirit in existence. He was personally trained by one of the legendary Sannin, and she had what? Some minor water techniques?

Expecting her to face off against someone like Naruto really was incredibly unfair.

At last he saw her, striding into the arena grounds from the open gate on the other side. She was dressed in the white robes of the Konoha medical division, the snake on her chest symbolising healing and rebirth – all to make a good impression on the medics standing by, no doubt. Her eyes were bound with linen bandages, thin enough to see through while still shielding her from Naruto's blinding light. On her back she carried a meter-long scroll, similar to what Naruto had used back in Waves.

Even her hair had been cut short.

"Sakura-chan…"

She walked up to Naruto calmly, no trace of emotion on what could be seen of her face. "Hello, Naruto."

The examiner looked between them expectantly, perhaps waiting for them to engage in some verbal sparring before the match in order to excite the audience and fill some time. Battles between ninjas were as short as they were brutal after all, and many in the audience had come from so very far away to watch them fight… surely it was not so much to ask for Naruto and Sakura to give them a bit of a show?

Perhaps Naruto would have, if there had been anything left to say.

"All right then…" The examiner slashed his hand downwards. "Begin!"

Naruto jolted into action, fumbling to form the seals for the Shadow Clone technique even as Sakura rolled open her scroll and aimed it in Naruto's direction. As the clones rushed at her in unison, a thick jet of water blasted from the seal at incredible speed and slammed into his clones, taking them out instantly even as she angled the scroll to hit the original Naruto as well. The water crashed into him with such force that he lost all sense of direction, tumbling backwards as he washed away with the current. At last he found his footing and he emerged coughing and spluttering, barely managing to cast the shadow clone technique again before the jet of water struck him and he went under once more.

This time his clones lasted long enough to create more copies of their own, and they threw themselves at Sakura with numbers too great to eliminate all at once. Still their memories hammered into Naruto with such frequency that he lost all sense of space and time: One moment he was charging at Sakura only for her to lash him with a watery whip, the next he was rushing her in a group when the water rose up in a wave that crashed into them all at once. He was falling, swimming, sinking drinking and drowning, water forcing its way down his mouth and throat and burning his lungs while his arms flailed around helplessly, he was dying and there was nothing he could do-

An earthen wall rose up to block the stream and he felt strong arms grab him, tugging on his shoulders and pulling him out of the water. In his panic he almost fought back, but then he remembered that nobody was actually trying to kill him. He spluttered and coughed up what must have been litres of water, searing his lungs coming up almost as much as when it went down. When he could finally breathe again he found himself looking up at his own young face, bright blue eyes staring back at him.

 _Right... of course._

Sakura was still fending off a whole slew of clones, using the water that spewed out of the scroll like a geyser to cast her techniques with maximum efficiency – lashing out with whips of water and launching waves in every direction at a speed he never would have imagined from her. All of her attacks were low lethality but that made them ideal for fighting clones, and the surging water on the ground disrupted Naruto's usual tactics because he had never mastered water walking on account of his poor chakra control _and_ s _he knew that about him_. Above all the sheer volume of water coming from that scroll was incredible – even with an entire month to work with Naruto had no idea how she could have-

 _Oh. Tenten._

Naruto glanced in the direction of the stands where he imagined her sitting. Of _course_ the budding seals mistress would have helped Sakura prepare against Naruto, since she still had a score to settle with him for beating her teammate Lee. He really had not properly prepared for this fight _at all_.

"Uhm," he heard his own voice say. "Shouldn't we, uh, change tactics or something?"

Naruto sighed. His clones were identical to him, yet somehow they still looked to him for leadership. He drew blood from his thumb with a knife, formed the seals for his new technique and slammed his hands on the surface of the shallow water. Two monstrous creatures appeared in front of him: Gama, the giant orange toad that Jiraiya had introduced him to earlier, and a smaller yellow toad with an especially moronic expression on its broad flat face. The former greeted him with a mournful croak.

"Use your water technique to attack her from a distance," he ordered the yellow toad. "Me and Gama will circle around and attack her up close." He jumped on top of the orange toad and glued himself to its back with chakra, and then it set off with great bounding leaps. _I'm sorry Sakura-chan, but I can replicate your chakra nature with a single technique – no matter how hard you try, you still can't beat me._

As Sakura fended off the last of his clones, she switched and ran through the seals for her genjutsu technique. Naruto immediately called for Gama to pick up the pace, its bounding leaps nearly causing him to lose grip and fall into the rising waters below. _Her genjutsu targets an area instead of a single person like Sasuke's: All I gotta do is move fast enough and she won't be able to catch me in it._

Right then a jet of water struck Naruto from behind and he tumbled head over heels down and into the water, though this time he managed to scramble to his feet right after. Gama croaked painfully as the jet of water slammed into his rear, and Naruto realized with a curse that it was coming from _his own toad_ that he had just summoned – Sakura's genjutsu had never been intended for Naruto in the first place.

"Stop, you idiot! The target is the girl, not the toad!" Hesitating only a second, Naruto cancelled the technique and sent the yellow toad back to where it came from, but it was already too late: Sakura had run up to the still recovering Gama, her hand glowing green with chakra as she brushed upon its flank. At once boils and sores erupted all over its skin, green blood running down its body in rivulets as it croaked and _moaned_ in anguish before collapsing on the spot and disappearing with an intake of air.

" _Gama!_ " Naruto twisted to face Sakura, who was still standing there with that unreadable expression on her face. "What on earth did you do that for? He was just a dumb toad, you didn't need to-"

"Calm down," she said, speaking at last. "I didn't kill him: I only used my Mystical Palm technique to inflict epidermal injury. Funnily enough, it turns out the trick to being a medic is learning how _not_ to kill your patient." It was hard to tell with the bandages covering her eyes, but her lips seemed to quirk in a humourless smile. "Besides, didn't you hear Sasuke earlier? When you send animals out to fight on your behalf, they tend to die – that's something you're only supposed to do with other people, you see."

He stared at her, unsure what to make of that. "What's the matter with you? Why're you doing this?"

"Why am I doing this? Why am _I_ doing this?" She tore the bandages from her face, and at last he could see the simmering fury in her eyes. "Why are you even _here_ , Naruto? I'm taking part in this blasted exam because I need to become a chūnin so I can join the medical division, and Sasuke is – well he has to become stronger for his own reasons, but what on earth are _you_ doing here?"

"I…" Naruto started to give her one of the many reasons he had come up with in advance, but when he opened his mouth a different sound came out. "I have to beat him. I need to show him and everyone here that he's wrong: That being insane or unreasonable doesn't make you stronger, it just causes you to forget about protecting the things that are most important to you."

"Who, Gaara?" Her green eyes searched him vainly, looking to make some sense of his words. "What is it to you? You don't know him, he's not even from the same Village as you – he's not your problem!"

"Nothing around here is _ever_ anyone's problem," Naruto protested, remembering how everyone had just ignored the fact that Gaara killed those Rain ninjas in the forest. He saw again how the audience just stood by and watched as the Sand ninja killed Yoroi, revelling in the bloodshed. "If I don't stop him, he's just gonna keep on fighting other people, and they'll die too!"

He remembered how pained Kurama had sounded while talking about his lost little brother. " _His voice stays with him always, babbling lunacy and hatred into his ears, forever looking for an opening to destroy all life. Your Enemy is, and has always been, madness."_ And finally, he remembered the Fourth's letter, and the words Jiraiya had repeated to him for as long as he could remember: _"Even I can tell that the darkness is spreading, but I believe the day will come when people truly understand each other. One day we'll change it, you and I…"_

"Someone," he said, swallowing, "someone's gotta start taking responsibility for things that are not their problem. And maybe, maybe if they all see me do it… maybe other people will learn to do it too."

 _"_ _And if, if even we can come to talk like this… maybe it's not so hopeless… after all…"_

She was still staring at him, her expression only growing more fixed as her facial muscles hardened. At last she pulled her bandages back over her eyes, obscuring her face once more. "Fine," she said. "I already knew that trying to reason with you was never going to work. I'll just have to do this the hard way."

"Wait," said Naruto. "Hold-" She opened her scroll and the jet of water blasted him yet again, sending him sprawling away from her once more. He hastily cast the shadow clone technique even as he tumbled and fell, seeking to distract her from his real body.

He raised his head above the stream and gasped for breath. "I just want to-!"

She flicked through more seals and the water rose up all around her, a veritable tidal wave that crashed into Naruto's clones and threw him under, tossing him around like a ragdoll before finally dumping him onto the other end of the arena.

 _Fine then,_ Naruto thought, a simmering fury rising up in him like boiling water. _The hard way it is._

He channelled his chakra into his own element of _Wind_ , needing no seals or fine control to send all the water hurling away from him with crude brute force. For a second he stood in the centre of the maelstrom, droplets of water raining down all around him, and then he charged at Sakura. She aimed the scroll at him again, but he ducked underneath the stream and blocked what he could not dodge with his aura of wind. She formed seals and sent another raging torrent rushing at him, but this time he leaped over it effortlessly, the water barely touching his feet as his chakra responded to his will like never before. At last she discarded her scroll and created illusory clones all around her, an academy-level technique that she _knew_ Naruto had never learned to see through properly, and charged right back at him.

-Tiny water droplets, falling and passing through the first four images but not the fifth-

His fist impacted her face and she careened backwards, her body twisting and flailing as she struck the water, and for one horrible moment he thought he had hit her _too hard_ but then she half rose to face him again.

She brushed her bruised cheek with the back of her hand, examining the blood with vague distaste. "Is that all? Were you planning to defeat Gaara like that, by throwing just one punch?"

For a second he was at a loss for anything to say, but then his anger gave answer. "What's it to _you_? Who do you think you are, telling me what I can or can't do with my life? You just told me not to interfere with other people's problems!" His fists balled involuntarily, frustration giving rise to a rage coming from a place he did not know. "You and Sasuke are always talking down to me, deciding what I should do and treating me like a child, but you'd never accept the same from me, not in a million years!"

"It's not the same," she whispered. "You _are_ my problem." She took hold of her bandages and pulled them loose, strands of linen cascading from her clasped hand. "They say that if you save someone, they are forever after your responsibility, so that if they kill someone then that makes you a murderer as well. I suppose it's meant to make you consider the consequences of your actions, but the stories never say what to do if you _fail_ to save someone. If someone dies on your watch, doesn't that make you even more responsible? I'm starting to think that perhaps it should be the other way around…" She stared up at him, her green eyes begging him to understand. "What if… what if you remain innocent as long as you try your hardest, but if you do nothing even once then you're guilty of whatever happens after?"

Naruto stared at her, his anger for once leaving him without a retort. "Sakura-chan…"

"Forget it," she mumbled. "You're right: I'm always lecturing others and talking down to them, but I have no answers to offer, not really." She rose, letting the bandages slip from her fingers to swim freely in the ebbing waters at her feet. "Just… please promise me you won't die to him, Naruto."

As she walked away, he found his voice only belatedly. "…I'll try not to."

The examiner looked between them and nodded, apparently satisfied. "Winner: Uzumaki Naruto."

-o-

And then it was time for the first semi-final match.

"Oh, this is so exciting," said Tenten. "I can't wait to see what the last of the Uchiha is capable off!"

"Shhh, don't remind her," Ino whispered, a tad too loudly to prevent Sakura from overhearing. Ino shot a worried glance in her direction. "It's probably best if you don't bother her right now…"

Sakura sat there quietly and watched until the examiner announced the next match, and she was still watching quietly when the contenders entered the arena. Sasuke looked imperial, standing tall though his shoulders ever so slightly slumped: A sign of exhaustion from his last match that would have been imperceptible to anyone who did not know him as well as Sakura.

(Although… did she? Sasuke had told Temari that he was 'already accounted for', but what did that mean, exactly? Even after all this time, she still could not tell what he was really thinking at all...)

The pale-skinned Hyūga facing him was the opposite: He bore none of the fatigue, but his right arm was still raw from where the wires had cut into his skin, and there was a wild look in his eyes like that of a cornered animal, eerily reminiscent of the desperate men Sakura had fought in the Land of Waves.

A particularly naïve person might have concluded that this made him a _less_ dangerous foe.

The two warriors met in the centre of the battlefield, staring off as the examiner raised his hand. "Please prepare yourselves," he said. He watched the two of them like a hawk. "If you are both ready…"

Neji lowered his headband, obscuring his white eyes from sight. _Of course: He can still see everything this way, but Sasuke can't use his genjutsu. The Byakugan really is the perfect counter to the Sharingan…_

"This seems familiar," Sasuke remarked with a smirk, though his spirit did not really seem into it.

The examiner slashed his hand downwards. "Begin!"

"What are you implying?" Neji asked with gritted teeth as he shifted into his clan's taijutsu stance. There was a strange marking on his forehead, Sakura noticed, like a hooked cross that was _etched_ _into his skin_ …

"I believe your teammate Lee employed the same trick against my comrade," Sasuke said idly. "He is also a master of taijutsu like you, and yet you seemed to look down on him – saying he lacked talent."

"What of it?" Neji's stance remained perfectly still as they squared off. The examiner looked between them in bemusement but said nothing, content to watch. "His delusions are not your concern, Uchiha."

"I'm merely curious," Sasuke said as he assumed his own stance. "What exactly makes you so different from him? Is it the fact that you can shape chakra? But your clan refuses to learn even basic elemental techniques, insisting on only using chakra in its purest form so as to better show off your eyes' ability. Tell me: What is the difference between someone without potential, and one who refuses to fulfil it?"

Neji charged at Sasuke, who instantly leaped backwards and threw a handful of shuriken at his opponent – which Neji instantly deflected and _plucked out of the air_. No, it was not going to be that easy to force him to waste chakra, Sakura thought grimly.

"I asked how you're any different!" Sasuke formed seals and sent lightning darting from his fingertips even as he dodged the shuriken that were thrown back at him, but Neji raised his hands and the lightning bent around an invisible wall of force to harmlessly strike the earth behind him. "If you were the one to fight Naruto and he had dug into the ground the way he did against Lee, what could you have done about it?"

"I would have used the Byakugan to recognize what he was doing and stopped him," Neji snapped back. "Or else I would have located him below ground and used explosive tags to flush him out." He charged again, and this time Sasuke spat out countless tiny fireballs which Neji extinguished with a brush of his hands, only for more shuriken to be revealed within. Wires coiled around Neji even as he dodged the shuriken, but this time he was prepared for it: Even without spinning, chakra erupted from every part of his body and blew the shuriken away – broken wires and all. "I am different because I am _better!_ "

Sasuke breathed the last of the fire onto his sword and rushed at him, driving Neji back and forcing him to avoid not only the flaming blade but also the burning lance Sasuke had revealed he could unleash from the tip. "You _say_ that," Sasuke chided, "but explosive tags are hardly –" He gasped as an invisible force from Neji's palm hurled him backwards, causing Sakura's heart to jump.

Sasuke stood up painfully, his sword extinguished. "All right," he grunted, "your versatility is decent, but…"

" _Stop talking!_ " Neji scattered smoke bombs around Sasuke, covering the area in fumes that his bound eyes could surely see through but which the Sharingan could not. Then he threw his own shuriken through the smoke which Sasuke moved to dodge despite his lack of vision, only for a blast of force from Neji's palms to hurl the shuriken straight into Sasuke's path, tearing into his arms and legs. "Be silent!"

"Sage's Sacred Tools…" Tenten's hands went to her mouth. "Neji's _destroying_ him."

 _No,_ thought Sakura. _You're only looking at the facts, but you should look at his eyes. The truth is always in his eyes…_

Neji came charging forward once again, and this time Sasuke body-flickered away – only for Neji to body-flicker after him and send him crashing to the ground with another burst of invisible force.

And yet, somehow, Sasuke _still_ thought he was winning. No, more than that, it was like he was not looking at Neji at all...

"You're the one who talks too much," Sasuke said with a grimace as he pulled a shuriken out of his leg. "Trying to break Hinata just because she's the heir to the Hyūga clan and you're a branch member – as if it were somehow her fault. Don't you think she would prefer it too if your positions were switched?"

"Shut up!" Neji lunged at him with one hand, and Sasuke raised his right arm to block in reflex, but the limb shuddered upon contact and fell lifelessly to Sasuke's side. For one second Sasuke's eyes widened in panic, but then he turned his body and blocked Neji's next attack with his right shoulder instead, which slumped as well. "You don't know anything!" Neji struck out again, but Sasuke kept interposing the same already numbed body-parts, reducing the effect of the Gentle-Fist strikes. "You Uchiha always think you're so _clever_ , with your smooth tongues and your hypnotic eyes, manipulating everyone while pretending to be above it all. Everyone acts like the Uchiha were this great and noble clan because they were so afraid of them, but meanwhile everyone _hated their_ _guts!_ " He sneered viciously at Sasuke's change in expression. "That's right: Your entire family was a _nest of vipers_ and everyone in the Village knew the fact, yet it's amazing how much more likable they became in death!"

On the surface, Sasuke's face was slack. His right arm was numb, his body torn and bloody, but his eyes… his eyes were like she had only seen them once before; right before Sasuke had fought Haku back in the ice and snow, right after he had seen Naruto fall. His left hand was shaking ever so slightly.

"Oh Kami," Sakura said with dawning horror, "he's going to _kill_ him."

"No kidding," said Ino, aghast. "Sasuke-kun should give up already, before it's too late!"

Sakura ignored her, rushing from her seat to – to do what? She hesitated, her hands on the railing of the arena. She could jump in and call for the match to be stopped of course, except… if she did that, Sasuke might never forgive her. She looked around furtively, searching desperately for some way out, and saw –

…five solemn figures dressed in white, the central a regal figure placed in a seat of honour. Hyūga Hiashi.

She rushed towards them without thinking, not even pausing as one of them rose to stop her before Hiashi shushed him down. "Lord Hiashi, you have to stop the match," she cried, fumbling for words. "I think… I think Sasuke might _kill_ Neji, if he keeps insulting his family like that!" Her outburst was met by snorts of disbelief from each of the Hyūga except for Hinata and Lord Hiashi himself, the latter of whom only looked at her curiously, as though trying to determine what would make her say such a thing.

"F-father," Hinata said hesitantly. "If… if Sakura-san says it, then… I think, perhaps, it might be true."

Neji meanwhile had given up on using his Gentle Fist style, aiming instead to pound Sasuke into the ground with raw unfocused punches, his attacks clumsy and ineffective with rage. "Do you think nobody _noticed_ when your family was being slaughtered? We all heard the screams, and they were like a _lullaby_ to us! As far as the Hyūga clan is concerned, your brother was the only noble Uchiha that ever lived!"

Hiashi watched this disaster with a measured gaze. "If my nephew wishes to provoke the Lord Uchiha into killing him, then that is his decision," he said at last. "I shall not take that right away from him."

Sakura stared at him, aghast. "But he is your _brother's_ _son_. How could you just watch that happen?"

"Do you see that mark on his forehead?" asked Hiashi. "It is a cursed seal, and it is what binds the branch house of the family to serve the main house." One of the Hyūga half-rose to protest this admission, but a single glance from Hiashi shut him down. "A hand sign which is known only to the main branch of our family may activate the seal and kill or torment the bearer at one's leisure, and should they fall into enemy hands it can seal their eyes as well – all to protect our clan's bloodline." He let out a small, pained sigh. "There exists… a certain kind of person who would sooner choose death than live even a single day in servitude, and I fear my brother was of that type. Following a certain incident, he elected to die rather than to be punished at my hands, and I could not bear to deny him that last remaining freedom." He watched Neji, who looked like he was finally starting to tire of beating on Sasuke. "Perhaps it runs in the family? Who knows but that I would have done the same, were I in their position…"

Seeing an opening, Sasuke's left hand grasped his right and forced it into position to form a seal. Darkness sprang into existence around the two, a globe of pure blackness five meters across that obscured all vision – even that of the Byakugan, Sakura realized with a start, if it was made of chakra.

"But that is Uchiha Madara's technique!" One of the Hyūga rose up in shock, even as a choked scream escaped from the darkness – a high and piercing note of agony that cut straight to Sakura's spine.

"Senju Tobirama's, actually." They all turned to stare at Lord Hiashi, whose milky-white eyes seemed to be misting over as his Byakugan poured over Sasuke's technique. "Everyone knows it was Madara who commanded the darkness at the Valley of the End, but it was the Second Hokage who first invented the _Bringer of Darkness_ technique. Genjutsu he called it, even though it could be seen by everyone in sight." A wry smile appeared on his lips. "And of course, they all insist it was the noble First Hokage who came up with the _Will of Fire_ , despite the obvious fact that it was the Uchiha who possessed fire-nature chakra. Ah, but I fear mere history and fact carry little weight relative to what people feel _ought_ to have occurred."

Sakura turned her gaze back to the arena, uncertain of what she should think or feel or what she should do if anything could even be done at all. Before her eyes the darkness faded – disappearing as though it had been an illusion after all – revealing Sasuke looming over Neji's prone form, standing tall despite his injuries. In his eyes shone the crimson light of the Sharingan, and Sakura saw that Neji's headband had been raised once more, revealing a pair of pale white eyes that stared out at nothing.

"Perhaps you're right," Sasuke said softly, his voice strained as though he had to force out every word. "You are the servant of a great clan, while I am Lord of nothing and Master of nowhere, so perhaps neither of us is better than the other and we both talk too much. Yet if you insult my family again, I will not forgive you so easily, because I do love them even if they were never perfect." His red eyes bored into Neji's. "In order to protect something that precious… surely you can understand, just a little bit?"

As the examiner called the match, Sasuke slowly limped in the direction of the medics that were rushing into the arena, but Hyūga Neji kept lying there and stared at the clouds for a little while longer.


	35. Blood and Sand

Neji lay on his back, staring blankly upwards just as he had at the end of his match, still looking at nothing even though the drifting white clouds had been replaced by a white ceiling somewhere along the way. _That's right,_ he thought distantly. _Hospitals are white too, aren't they? Just like back home…_

There was the sound of a door opening, and a familiar voice compelled the medics to rush out the room and close the door behind them.

"What do you want?" he asked, not bothering to see who entered.

"I came to see how you were doing," said the solemn voice of Hyūga Hiashi. "And also, to tell you something I realize I should have told you a long time ago: The truth of what happened to your father."

This time Neji did crane his head to see. Lord Hiashi was wearing his formal white robes and brown haori, and the expression on his face was both serious and concerned, though that was not unusual.

He rose up slightly. "What are you talking about? You did tell me: My father chose to take his own life rather than to be punished after he failed to prevent Lady Hinata from being abducted by a Cloud ninja." Perhaps he gave his reply too brusquely, but it was absurd to think that Neji could ever have forgotten.

"That is indeed what I told you," Lord Hiashi agreed, seating himself on the bed opposite Neji and neatly folding his robes to prevent creases. "However, that is not what truly transpired. The truth is that the person who tried to abduct Hinata was none other than your father, my brother Hyūga Hizashi himself."

Neji sat up straight, not trusting himself to speak. Somehow, it was not as much of a shock as it should have been. Perhaps a part of him had suspected, all along?

"I could not believe it at first," Hiashi admitted, "but when he explained it to me I finally understood. He had carried the burden of that mark on your forehead his whole life, but he always performed his role without complaint. Yet when it became time for you to be marked as well… somehow that was too much for him to bear. Perhaps he thought that you might have been made the heir, if my daughter was out of the picture, as even then the differences in talent had been plain to see. Or perhaps the idea of you being placed beneath her was simply too much of an insult for him to bear."

"Why tell me this now?" Neji clutched at the hospital sheets, his knuckles white. "After all this time…"

"I wanted to save my nephew the shame of being the son of a traitor," Hiashi said softly. "That is truly the reason why I invented that story, but today I realized I should have told you much sooner. Perhaps I hesitated because I myself wanted to maintain the illusion. He _was_ my brother, after all."

Perhaps it was only the exhaustion, but Neji found it very difficult to hate the Lord Hyūga in that moment. Moreover, for his father to target Hinata purely because she made for an easier target, that was just… cowardly.

He stared hard at the floor's stone tiles, and spoke with a trembling voice. "Then… since it was my father's dying wish, will you remove the Mark of the Servant now?" He touched the lines on his forehead, and flinched, though of course he no longer felt any pain.

Hiashi's voice grew stern. "The separation of our houses is a tradition that goes back to the inception of the Hyūga clan – I cannot make an exception to that merely because my selfish brother wished it so. We each must accept the role we are given in life. Young as you are, I expect you to understand that much."

"I see," Neji said emptily. "Then, if that is everything, please let me rest. I am still very tired."

As soon as he heard the door close, Neji got up and walked to the window, staring up at the sky once more. Right in the midst of those drifting white clouds, he thought he saw a single bird fly freely.

 _Uchiha Sasuke… it seems that you were right about everything. Just like your clan, my family is also a pit of vipers, though you are their heir while I am but a servant. Perhaps we are not so different, after all?_

He would have to go and apologize to Lady Hinata, as soon as he could.

-o-

The examiner had called for a long break after the last match, presumably to give Naruto more time to fret and worry himself to death. There was just so much going on: So many competing strands of thought that all clamoured for his attention, each more pressing and disconcerting than the one before.

He was going to fight _Gaara of the Desert_ : The person who had killed or tried to kill someone almost every single time he had appeared. Naruto had no idea how he was even supposed to fight someone like that, but he had sworn to defeat him right in front of everyone and to forfeit now was unthinkable. Well, it was not really unthinkable because he was thinking it right at that moment, but…

…but also Sasuke had used _Madara's technique_. He had called upon the darkness as though it was nothing, and Naruto had only just started to untangle the implications of that when he realized it was the _exact same technique he could also use_. He should have realized it much earlier, but _of course_ the transformation technique which worked by bending light could also be used to create pure darkness, which would naturally take the form of a sphere if the range was expanded to the limits of one's chakra control. That meant that Madara's secret power that everyone feared so much was just a simple application of an academy-level technique, which nobody else had thought to use because they all thought of power as being able to cast the biggest fireball. Naruto only now understood what the Fourth had truly meant when he wrote in his letter that it was the Enemy's wisdom that he feared the most.

…but more importantly he was about to fight the host to the One-Tailed Beast, which if Kurama could be believed had been driven insane through countless deaths and rebirths and was now actively trying to compel his host to let it out so it could destroy the world. He could not even begin to imagine how that might tie into the Enemy's plans, except that for all he knew the Enemy could be _right here in the audience_ waiting for the right opportunity to release the beast from Gaara's stomach and control it, just as they had done with Kurama fourteen years ago. And if that was the case, should Naruto forfeit his match to foil those plans, or would defeating Gaara be more likely to achieve that?

"Attention everyone!" the examiner called out. "The match begins in five minutes. I would like to ask all of you to please take your seats and for the contestants to start heading towards the arena."

Naruto found himself standing up on trembling legs and moving towards the stairs without any conscious decision on his part. It was as though he were caught in a torrent that pushed him inexorably in one direction, almost like when Sakura had unleashed her water scroll on him.

"Hey, wait! Hold on a second."

Naruto stumbled around in a crude mockery of a Ninja's sharp reflexes, and found himself staring at a small round face with her hair bound in buns like a pair of big round ears. "Tenten? Why are you here? I thought you were still mad at me."

"Of course I'm still mad at you!" she huffed. "I won't forgive you so easily for insulting poor Lee like that. But, I also realize that if he had fought against the guys who's waiting for you down below, Lee wouldn't just have gotten hurt – he would be _dead_. So, you'd better make sure you don't lose to him!"

Naruto blinked. "But… I thought you…"

"She's right, you know." Shikamaru was still lazing in his seat, not bothering to look up. "This is not the sort of guy you can afford to take lightly. He hasn't faced any real challenge yet, so I'm willing to bet that he still has some tricks up his sleeve. He'll use them the moment it starts to look like he's losing, so don't let your guard down." As Shikamaru's team moved past the row of seats to join him, the corner of his lips twisted into a sardonic smile. "And hey, I'm just glad it's you facing him instead of one of us."

Ino gave Naruto an encouraging smile, while Chōji extended a meaty hand. "It's a bag of soldier pills," the boy prompted. "They're our clan's special recipe. I'm not really supposed to share them with outsiders, but my dad also gave them to Kakashi-sensei to improve his stamina, so it should be okay."

Naruto took the bag wordlessly, unsure of what to say.

Hinata and Neji arrived closely behind the others (Did they seem more friendly with each other now? When had that happened?). It took Hinata a second to find her voice, but when she did she spoke she almost sounded confident. "Naruto-kun… all my life I used to think that I was a failure as a ninja. You were the first to prove me wrong. I – I truly believe you have a power that your enemy cannot hope to match." Her face flushed as she realized that he was staring at her.

Hyūga Neji nodded in agreement. "I have seen you fight against my teammate, Lee. You will not lose."

Naruto stared at them, the world failing to make sense to him once more. "I don't… I don't understand. None of you said anything like this to me before, so why now?" _What did I do? What changed?_

"It seems logical to me." Naruto jumped as insects began to crawl over his skin, but then he turned and saw that it was just Shino being creepy as always. "Why is that? Because we all witnessed Gaara killing a Leaf ninja right in front of us. I told you once that friendship means standing together for the sake of the collective, so it only makes sense that we would wish to unite against such a dangerous enemy."

"Finally the man says something I can get behind!" Kiba slapped Shino on the shoulder with a feral grin, while Lee joined up with them as well. Naruto had no idea that the two of them had been out of the hospital, never mind that they were watching the matches here with him. "That bastard's been going around acting like he owns the place, and he needs teaching a lesson. Anyone who goes after one of us has to deal with all of us!"

Shino's insects were filling his coils with chakra, Naruto realized, but there must have been some special quality to it because it was generating the strangest feeling – like there was an even greater power flowing through his veins.

At last Sakura strode up to him, a serious expression on her face. She held out a large scroll which she thrust at his chest. "Naruto, you're an absolute idiot for refusing to forfeit this match, but if you absolutely must fight Gaara then I don't want to see you lose because I didn't do enough to help." She nodded towards the scroll, which Naruto gingerly accepted. "It's the water scroll Tenten helped me fill," she explained. "I already used up most of it against you, but it should still help to slow down his Sand."

"Sakura-chan," he said, "I don't…"

She was upon him on the instant, nearly crushing the scroll between them as she gave him a lung-crushing hug. "Please don't die, Naruto," she whispered. "I wouldn't be able to forgive myself a second time."

It was too much, just too much. Like a question in an academy exam for which he had not studied, he had not the faintest idea of how to deal with this. Tears were forming in his eyes, and it was all he could do not to let them fall, because crying right before a battle was a terrible idea and in any case it would just make him look like even more of an idiot.

He searched for the one person who was missing, and found him leaning casually against the railing, looking like he had just escaped from a hospital bed – which in fact he probably had. Sasuke's wounds appeared to have been closed at least, even if his clothes were tattered, so the bandages seemed largely symbolic.

"What are you looking at, dropout?" The last of the Uchiha smirked at him. "I'm not about to hug you if that's what you're waiting for. If anything I should be rooting for Gaara – I have to face whoever wins here after all, and out of everyone in this exam you are the person I'd want to fight the _least_."

Naruto stared at him, speechless. Somehow, those lightly barbed words seemed to matter more than everything else combined, purely because of who it was that spoke them. Chakra seemed to explode out of his veins as the insects filled him up till bursting, and when the swarm departed they took all of his fears and worries with them. He flexed his fingers experimentally, and found his fists brimming with unreleased strength, while his mind reviewed the upcoming match with perfect clarity. The inexorable force pushing him onwards had vanished; there was no longer any reason to fight Gaara at all.

He smiled inwardly. The others would call him an idiot and complain about wasted effort when he let them know that he was forfeiting the match, but none of that seemed to matter anymore. But right as he was about to admit defeat, an even better solution seemed to slide in place. The very act of facing up to doing what he feared the most had finally allowed him to realize that he did not _have_ to.

"Hold on!" he called out, as he ran off in the other direction. "Stall for me! I gotta go bathroom!"

The others all cried out in protest, and the examiner swore that Naruto would be disqualified on the spot if he did not show up immediately, but Naruto paid them no heed. For once, he could see the path ahead with perfect clarity, and their patience was rewarded by the sight of an orange ninja leaping into the arena, with the light of the sun behind his back as he hurled towards the ground like a meteor.

"Gaara! I don't care who you are or how strong you are – this fight you lose!"

-o-

The redheaded boy stared back at him, unfazed, and Naruto grinned weakly in return.

"I'm gonna show you that you're wrong about everything," he said. "All that crap about there being no justice and honour and it being easier to just kill anyone you like... It's just like I said to Lee: I'll show everyone who's watching that there's advantages to being sane, even if I gotta beat the stuffing out of you to do it!"

"That is a foolish thing to say," said Gaara. "Do dead men in Konoha all say such foolish things?"

"All right then," said the examiner, chewing on a senbon as he examined the two contestants. "If you're finally both ready, I declare that this semi-final round of the Chūnin Exams shall now… begin!"

Sand shot out of Gaara's gourd even as Naruto cast the shadow clone technique and split into a dozen bodies, which ran off in every direction. Naruto immediately lost track of where and who he was as the Sand took out more than half of them, but none of that mattered. All he had to do was last until-

Yet more clones popped into existence as they all cast the technique again, and his chakra plunged at an alarming rate, but now they had him surrounded. He unfurled his water scroll and blasted Gaara's sand defences at full force. In response a lance of wet sand smashed into him, but all that it achieved was that the world shifted until he was on the other side of the arena, still blasting water at the enemy _. Cloned scrolls access the same storage space,_ he thought triumphantly, but there was no time to cheer as half the clones charged forward on a silent command while the rest hurled shuriken at their enemy. The sand instinctively rose up to block the shuriken, and a sweep of Gaara's arm resulted in the sand taking out several more clones that rushed at him with swords drawn, but several more had managed to leap over his attacks or had body-flickered behind him. Then the world burst into blinding light as they activated his Lightbringer technique, and for just one instant Naruto could see the outline of Gaara shielding himself as the clones fell upon him before they activated the explosive seals on their palms and the whole scene became consumed by a ball of fire.

The ground shook beneath Naruto's feet as the shockwave thundered through his body, and he only barely remained standing. There were only a few clones left in the arena now, and he realized in shock that the chakra of the others had not returned to him and _neither had their memories_.

"Blood," he heard a voice distantly say, and as he looked up he saw that Gaara was standing, staring at his hands as wet sand crumbled and fell from his skin – the boy had worn the sand on his body like armour, using the transformation technique to make it look like skin. "You… you injured me?"

Naruto stared at his opponent, who was indeed bleeding slightly, drops of red running down his hands and face and dripping onto the arena grounds. There was a look in the boy's eyes like someone haunted – no, angry, or perhaps… excited?

Gaara's lips twisted into a sick grin. "Uzumaki Naruto… I was right about you. The way you fight is the same as mine – caring only to destroy your enemy with nothing held back."

"Don't give me that crap," said Naruto, far less eager to continue the argument now that he had used up most of his chakra and the rush from before had worn off. "I wasn't trying to kill you, I was just…" What _had_ he been doing? His chest tightened at the thought: That explosion certainly could have killed his enemy – _would_ have killed his opponent but for the armour he wore. Somehow the fight had gotten away from him, just like it had against Lee. "I was just… I was only…"

Gaara's grin widened further, eyes manic. "There is no need to hide it any longer, Uzumaki Naruto. You do not need to be concerned with the opinions of others for as long as you are stronger than them. As a ninja the instinct to kill has been instilled within you since birth – it is only natural for you to desire the destruction of your enemies." The wet sand gathered under the mad boy's feet, and before Naruto could do anything Gaara was floating up into the air on a carpet of sand.

"You are not allowed to leave the arena," the examiner reminded them from his hideout at the very edge of the arena. "You may only fly as high as the arena walls, or else you will be disqualified!"

But that was still higher than most of Naruto's attacks could reach, and as long as Gaara stayed close to the centre there was no advantage in running up the walls, either. "Look," he tried, "I'm sorry I almost killed you, all right? I can forfeit the match if you want, but you still killed a whole bunch of people and I can't just stand by and let you keep doing that. If you'd just listen for a moment and hear me out…"

Gaara's sand gathered in the air like a looming thundercloud, and it rained down on him just as it had done against Yoroi. Naruto cursed and formed seals to raise a barrier of earth all around him, the walls closing at the top to form a dome even as the globs of slush pelted the fortification. He cast the shadow clone technique again, and suddenly he was on the outside, running wildly to avoid being hit.

The sand above him coalesced into a single projectile, condensing with such force that all the water was squeezed out of it, and hurled down into the fortification he had just left behind. Naruto winced as the shelter exploded in a cloud of dirt, but there was no time to look back: He cast the shadow clone technique once more, this time focusing his chakra on cloning just a single kunai. The seal on his palm flared into life as he used the explosive chakra to fuel his technique, and then he hurled the explosive dagger at the floating platform with all his might. The Shadow Clone technique shattered on impact and the weapon detonated along with half a dozen others that the clones had thrown at the same time.

When the dust cleared there was an orb of sand hovering in the air, Gaara having pulled his projectiles back in order to make his defences even more impenetrable than before. _Only one option left…_

Naruto cursed inwardly as he unsealed a drop of his own blood from yet another seal on his thumb, not wanting to dispel his own cloned body. He formed the signs for the summoning technique and slammed his hands down on the ground. There was a blast of air that revealed a yellow toad staring dumbly ahead – the same one he had summoned before. Gaara was not the type to use genjutsu, Naruto hoped. "Yellow toad," he said. "Uh, Gamatatsu. Shoot water at that guy. Go!"

The toad croaked once, and then a blast of pressurized water spewed from its mouth and into Gaara's sphere of sand, which shook from the impact even as the sand grew wet and heavy once more. Immediately the orb began flying at rapid speed around the arena, and Naruto stared in wonder for a moment at the fact that Gaara was doing all of this blindly, but then one of his clones dispelled itself and he realized that Gaara had an eye of sand floating in a corner of the arena. He lifted his left palm to shoot a concentrated beam of light at it, but one of the other clones had beaten him to it and the eye hurriedly flew off, zipping around the battlefield even as blinding rays were shot at it from every angle.

Gaara's orb juddered in mid-flight, and Naruto was about to chase after it when suddenly motes of sand closed in on him from every direction. He hurriedly unleashed a blast of wind to hurl them away. All over the arena his clones were doing the same, and Naruto realized that Gaara had been trying to take all of them out at the same time. _He was only pretending to need all his sand for defence! But that means-_

A torrent of sand hurled from the sky to strike the ground behind him, and Naruto twisted around to see the yellow toad disappear beneath a mound of sand. " _Gamatatsu!"_ He ran blindly towards it, only to stop as the mound collapsed to reveal nothing beneath. One of his shadow clones had managed to cancel the technique just in time and sent the animal back to its home, he realized with faint relief.

"Why are you pretending to care about that creature?" Gaara was watching him curiously from above, his head peeking out from behind a hole in the floating orb. "From the first instance of its summoning its uselessness to you has been made readily apparent. That is why you chose to field it against me after all: In selecting it you judged the value of its life, and found it wanting."

Naruto opened his mouth to deny it, but found that he could not. Mad he might be, but Gaara was not wrong: When Temari's spirit animal died there had been true anguish in her scream, as if she had lost a dear friend, whereas Naruto had treated the toad as little more than a weapon to be used – merely another technique in his arsenal. Somehow, the guilt that arose only served to fuel his nascent anger.

Kurama's words resounded in his head once more: _"Small wonder the frogs and snakes are all domesticated, with us as an example of what should happen to them if they ever refuse your will…"_

"It's not like that," he said, balling his fists in frustration. "I know I don't always think before I act, but at least I'm _trying_ to be a good person. That's no excuse for you to just go around killing whoever you like!"

"Is that what you choose to believe about yourself?" The orb of sand drifted downwards until Gaara's eyes were almost level with Naruto's. "Look around you, Uzumaki Naruto: You are in an arena fighting a battle to the death against another who is doing the same. You are a killer seeking to kill killers for the entertainment of those who only wish they could be killers, all so that you can be promoted to a killer of a higher rank. You are here because you have been trained since birth to kill others and it is the one thing you are skilled at, and you know of no other way to win the respect of the killers you call friends."

Naruto stared at him, choking back the bile that welled up in his throat, only for it to churn in his stomach like sickness. It was as if everything that had been bothering him about the exams came back to him with twice the force: The fact that the Head of Torture and interrogation, Morino Ibiki, planned and oversaw the written test, followed by the mad Anko and the apathetic Hayate Gekko. The way everything had been designed as if to maximise the violence, with almost no regard for their wellbeing… the way Kiba had been beaten and carried off right in front of the Third Hokage as if it were the most normal thing in the world. All carried out by the Anbu and their spies in the Hyūga clan, who were watching him always – as though he was no less a tool of the Village than the toad had been to him.

He averted his eyes, turning to the audience, but their expressions seemed warped and monstrous now. Some were cheering for their conflict, while others were booing and shouting for them to continue the match. A lone old man stood and shook his cane at them, the bloodlust palpable in his beady little eyes.

He forced his gaze back to Gaara, but by now his visage had changed as well. It was no longer just the bored monotone that disturbed him; even more than the history of casual murder, it was the pale light in his eyes which made Naruto shrink back in fear. "Do you see now, Uzumaki Naruto? Do you see the true nature of the world?" The orb touched upon the earth, and as Gaara formed hand seals a sick and twisted grin split across his face. "Then I have only one more question for you: What are the odds that I would destroy thirty-seven of your shadow clones so far, and not hit your true body even once?"

With those words Gaara closed his eyes and touched the edge of his orb, as though sensing all the earth around him, and when he opened them the light in his eyes redoubled. "You really are most interesting, Uzumaki Naruto: Of all the opponents I have ever faced, you are the first to ever fight _back!_ "

A spear of sand burst from the ground to impale Naruto, and then that Shadow clone too was no more.

-o-

The real Naruto stumbled and almost tripped over his feet as the memories of his clones struck him over and over, but he forced himself to focus on his own task. The streets were nearly deserted, almost the whole Village having left to watch the exams. He dashed through the narrow alleyways of Konoha without pause, relying on his transformation-technique to shroud him in the guise of a civilian, which he now knew would prevent even the Byakugan from making out his true form since it could not pierce chakra.

The optimal strategy had become obvious the moment he accepted that the exams were not worth dying over: He had realized then that getting disqualified was not strictly a _worse_ outcome than forfeiting, and so the option of cheating purely dominated that of risking his life – or so he had thought.

Hope rose in his chest at the familiar sight of his apartment complex appearing before him, and he sped towards the stairs with such speed that he slammed into the wall before he could turn. Ignoring the pain in his shoulder he ran up five steps at a time, fumbling for his keys and slamming the door behind him upon entry. He crashed onto the floor, struggling vainly to get his breathing under control.

Behind him, sand was already forcing its way under the crack and through the keyhole.

Naruto stared in horror at the sight, his pained gasps burning in his chest. It was just like fighting Haku in the house amongst the fire and the ice, except this time his enemy was trying to _kill_ _him._

The sand coalesced in front of him, forming a naked eye that twisted and turned before settling on him, followed by a gaping mouth of sand that formed beneath it. "Uzu… Uzu-maki, Na-ru-to…"

A hand of sand grasped at him, and Naruto shrieked as he sent a panicked blast of wind to hurl it away, only for the sand to gather once more, forming a full head and body this time. Naruto spun and rushed through the hallway and into the dirty half-kitchen, pain flaring in his back as something slammed into him from behind. He ran straight towards the large oaken door of Jiraiya's room, not stopping at the sound of dishes crashing to the floor. He entered and slammed the door shut behind him.

If the seals in Jiraiya's bedroom were not capable of keeping Gaara out, nothing would.

Without looking behind him, Naruto grabbed the giant scroll leaning against the desk next to the bed, the quickest glance confirming that it was the right one. He spread it out on the floor – ignoring the scratching and scraping sounds that were coming from the door – and searched for the empty spot next to his name and Jiraiya's. Then he cast the summoning technique again, and this time a tadpole the size of his fist appeared on the scroll, spitting out a small and grimy vial before disappearing once more. With no time to look for a quill, Naruto dipped his finger in the sandy red liquid, and began writing.

-o-

Naruto swallowed another of Chōji's soldier pills, hoping fervently that the side effects would be spread out over his many bodies as well, and continued the fight. All around the arena Shadow clones were disappearing, their memories crashing into him with such frequency that he barely even noticed anymore. Gaara had pulled out a giant scroll of his own, and from it had burst forth a fountain of sand like Sakura's water scroll – so much of it that it threatened to drown the arena.

 _Gaara of the Desert… so that's what they meant…_

More than just the sheer _volume_ of sand, the use of it had changed entirely: Gaara had unsealed weapons and tools, countless hands of sand hurling projectiles at his clones and operating crossbows, slings and other strange devices. Motes of sand were carrying explosive seals around the battlefield, destroying countless shadow clones no matter where they ran or how they tried to fight, and it was all Naruto could do to keep all of the clones from being destroyed at once.

And all the while, Gaara was sitting up there in his floating castle of sand, watching, seeming to _enjoy_ it.

"Gaara," Naruto pleaded once more. "Gaara, this is pointless. You know you can't kill me like this, and I can – I can just…" _Give up_ , his brain finished. _Do it._ He turned to face the examiner. "I… I'll just forfeit."

"Is that it, then?" asked the examiner. "You have to say the words in order. Say: I forfeit the match."

"No, stop." They both turned to look upwards, for it was Gaara who had spoken. "Don't… don't forfeit."

"Why shouldn't I?" At last, some semblance of control returned to Naruto. "You're trying to _kill_ me."

Gaara's mouth work silently in search of a reason, his eyes frantic (they were _yellow_ now). "I… I will…" He turned to face the audience. "I will murder your friends if you quit." He nodded to himself, relieved. "Yes, that's it: If you quit, I will kill all your friends slowly. So you see, you have to fight."

"You'll kill my friends," Naruto repeated, hollowly. He followed Gaara's gaze towards the stands, to where Sakura watched him mutely, Tenten with her hands over her mouth, Kiba cheering him on while Sasuke tried vainly to look casual, not quite able to hide the worry in his eyes. "You mean those friends, right over there?" He spotted Hinata and Neji, Shikamaru and the others, watching, all rooting for him to win. "I'm just asking, in case the Anbu in the audience didn't quite get which of _my friends_ you just threatened to _kill_ right in front of everybody."

"Do you imagine they care?" Gaara's grin returned again – his lips were almost _quivering_ now. "At any point during this exam your Hokage could have stopped the fighting and saved the lives of those who perished, but he did not because your existence means nothing to him." Naruto turned to glance up at the balcony where the Third was seated next to the Kazekage, watching impassively. "To harm the Kazekage's son is to harm the Kazekage and that makes my life valuable to him, but the Hokage only desires peace: Thus he has measured the value of your life against his interests, and found it wanting."

Naruto stared at Gaara first in horror, followed by rage, and then a volatile mix of either that eclipsed both. Sand was gathering around Gaara, forming an ever thicker second skin, and at last Naruto realized what was happening. Once again, the voice of Kurama resounded in his head. _"There is nothing left of him, kit. Just as I am called the Incarnate of Rage by some, so he has become the Whisper of Oblivion."_

"Don't do it," he whispered, despairingly. "I can't tell you how, but I know what you're doing. Gaara... If you release that thing there's no telling what's gonna happen; you have no idea what you'd unleash!"

 _"…_ _it is said that Shukaku's host can never sleep: His voice stays with him always, babbling lunacy and hatred into his ears, forever looking for an opening to destroy all life…"_

"There is only power," Gaara said in a faraway voice. "Killing is justice, honour is dishonour and there is no love but the love which you bear for yourself. It all becomes so much clearer when you understand that – It makes the world hurt _so much less_." The sand was forming into a tail now, swishing to and fro behind him as blue markings appeared on the sand which increasingly resembled living skin. "Yes," he whispered, "yes, you are right, of course… I shall kill them for you. **_Yes, yes,_** **_it is time..."_**

"Fine then," Naruto spat, turning away. From the corner of his eye he could spot distant movement in the stands, like Shinobi making ready to act, but he no longer cared enough to see. Fury burned in his veins, his ire scorching the very air around him until only his enemy remained within his field of vision. "I keep making the same mistake, over and over and over again... I keep trying to reason with people who cannot be reasoned with, and it never, ever, _ever_ works!" As another shadow clone stepped next to him he drew his sword and focussed chakra into it, his control over what little remained greater than ever before, until he could almost imagine seeing it shimmer with purest _Wind_. "Have it your way."

Gaara laughed from on top of his ramparts, mockingly, hauntingly, his voice a drunken giggle. **_"How are you planning to hit me with that, Uzumaki Naruto?"_** His eyes had turned into yellow diamonds.

"Like _this_." The clone next to him slammed his hands on the ground, his fingers red from the bloody sand he had gathered from where Gaara had been injured, and then Gaara was standing there right in front of him, his bright yellow eyes staring dumbly ahead. Behind him, the sand castle fell from the sky.

 _"_ _All I ask is that if you do what must be done, you are quick about it… for my sake."_

Naruto struck out once, his chakra blade slicing through Gaara's sand armour like paper, and the boy watched stupidly as his innards spilled out onto the arena grounds. His eyes widened in horror as he finally realized what was happening to him, and he opened his mouth to scream but Naruto was faster: The point of his sword went straight through the roof of Gaara's mouth and out the back of his skull.

He pulled the sword back out, and Gaara's body collapsed. The sand castle crashed into the earth.

 ** _"_** ** _Well?"_** he cried out, turning to face the Hokage's balcony with bloody sword in hand, his fury bursting forth from every pore. "Isn't this what you wanted? Children killing each other for your amusement?"

There was a brief moment of silence, and then the audience burst into devastating applause.


	36. Friendship and Fallout

**_"_** ** _Well?"_** he cried out, turning to face the Hokage's balcony with bloody sword in hand, his fury bursting forth from every pore. "Isn't this what you wanted? Children killing each other for your amusement?"

For the briefest moment, everything was silent. The Kazekage turned his back and stormed off, the Hokage and his entourage quietly rushing after him. Then one boy started clapping. A few others followed, scattered applause growing around the spot before cascading across the stands like a wave, until finally the whole audience burst into devastating applause. That was when they started chanting.

 _"_ _Uzumaki! Uzumaki! Uzumaki!"_

Naruto wanted to yell and curse at them, to grab and shake them and scream that all this was their fault for craving such violence in the first place, but his voice was drowned out by the thunder. The whole arena shook with the stamping of their feet as more and more spectators rose in exultation, and Naruto's legs shook with them – not just from the tremors of the earth but from the adrenaline and the drugs that coursed through his system, and above all the burning _rage_ that scorched his veins like fire.

Then one of them leaped from his seat into the arena grounds, and all that rage came into focus.

 _"_ _You!"_ Naruto strode towards his bandaged opponent, who calmly walked up to greet him as though it was the most normal thing in the world. He had almost forgotten about having to face Sasuke in the finals, but if his teammate was about to insist on fighting with lethal force Naruto might _actually_ have to murder him as well. "Why the hell did you start clapping? I was gonna-"

"Because annoying you is a national sport?" Sasuke smirked at him, but his smile disappeared as soon as he reached Naruto and whispered into his ear. " _Calm down._ I know you're angry, but this is not the time and place for it. You just killed the _Kazekage's son_ : Every shinobi in the audience has their nerves on edge right now, so unless your plan is to start a war and get yourself killed in spectacular fashion, just shut up and _wave_."

The shock of hearing it put like that was like a splash of cold water to the face, which helped to quench Naruto's inner fire, though he still could not bring himself to wave at them. Behind him, Gaara's body was being carried off, an ancient-looking lady from the Sand fretting over him before sending a murderous glare in Naruto's direction and flickering away once more. As the rage in Naruto's body slowly ebbed away, more and more of the void was filled by a sinking anxiety that sickened him like poison.

 _What did I just do? What was I thinking?_ He had had every good reason to do what he did, but still…

"Don't worry," said Sasuke, seeing his expression. "You won't have to fight me, if that's what you're thinking. I'm forfeiting the match."

Naruto stared at him, dumbstruck. "What? Why?"

The boy shrugged. "Why wouldn't I? I only ever cared about gaining combat experience in the first place, and I can spar with you whenever I want. I'll probably be promoted to chūnin anyway, and it's not as if the proctors are actually interested in another match right now." He smirked again. "Besides, you're in no state to fight me, and it wouldn't be any fun to beat you up while you're weak."

Naruto watched numbly as Sasuke went over to the examiner, who nodded and raised his hands to gain the attention of the audience. "Everyone please listen! As Uchiha Sasuke just forfeited his match, I provisionally declare Uzumaki Naruto to be the winner of the chūnin exams, until we can deliberate-"

The rest of his words were cut off however, as the crowd exploded in an uproar that shook the arena with enough force to make the previous tempest look like a mild breeze. All across the arena people were rushing for the exit, knocking over seats and clambering over each other in their haste to demand refunds for their tickets or the money they had bet on Sasuke, or perhaps both at the same time.

Sasuke smirked at the sight, his grey eyes twinkling with amusement. "Look at them. Mere moments ago they were deriving their afternoon's excitement from watching our mortal struggles, but now our positions have reversed completely. Just like ants on an anthill, scrambling madly after getting poked by a mere stick..."

Perhaps it was only the exhaustion, or his previous resentment at the crowd that had left his well dry of empathy, but for once Naruto thought he could understand Sasuke's perspective. Somewhere in that crowd people were getting trampled, but from down in the arena it really did look like a peculiar sight.

"Come on," said Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder and tugging gently. "Let's get you home."

* * *

"Are you sure you'll be okay?"

Kakashi-sensei had appeared from out of nowhere to whisk Naruto out of the arena, helping him to disappear as only a jōnin could. The expression of his one eye seemed unusually serious – for once, he was not pretending to be unconcerned about the fate of his student. "That was your first kill, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, not quite sure which question he was giving answer to. It was a lie, either way: He had killed all those people back in the Land of Waves after all, whose deaths had felt the same for all that they were not ninjas, but Kakashi surely knew that already. "I'll make it from here. Thanks anyway."

"All right," said Kakashi. "We'll talk more, later." He gave a final nod before vanishing once more.

 _You could've been a little harder to convince,_ Naruto thought glumly, perhaps unfairly. He began to make his way towards his apartment: It was only another minute to get there, anyway.

Thirty seconds later there was a slight expulsion of air behind him, and Naruto froze. Turning around, he found a pair of shadows hidden beneath one of the many walkways that connected the upper levels of Konoha, blending in with the walls as though they were part of the structure. Their black cloaks and white masks left almost nothing to be identified, but Naruto thought he could make out the slightest strand of purple hair peeking out behind one of the cat masks, and there was something vaguely familiar about the second man – as though Naruto had met him once already, in some time long past.

"The Hokage wishes to have an audience with you," the man said.

Naruto sighed. He could almost see his apartment door from where he stood. "How nice of him to ask."

* * *

Naruto tried vainly to control the beating of his heart as he marched through the long halls of the administrative building. Crackling torches passed him by on either side, their flickering light casting shadows across the floor and obscuring the movement of the shades that were surely following behind. Only the faintest shifts in the air current served to convince him that he was not, in fact, alone.

 _After everything I've gone through, I should be able to handle this as well_. Yet even as Naruto thought that, a part of him knew perfectly well that the Anbu presented a different level of threat entirely. Zabuza had been part of the Anbu, Kakashi had been one of their captains and so was Sasuke's murderous brother if the stories about him were even remotely true. He remembered Kakashi's speech about teamwork, about everything that made the Anbu so unbeatable, and he believed every word of it.

 _Kiba came back in the end; I will come back too,_ he told himself. _Or someone who looks like me, anyway…_

"Enter here," a voice said behind him. When Naruto turned around, there was only an empty hallway.

He sighed and, trying vainly to calm the beating of his heart, pushed open the massive wooden gates that had appeared before him. A wall of voices rose up to meet him – angry, loud and discordant.

"Lord and ladies of the council, please," the Hokage implored. The Third Hokage was sitting right there at the head of the oval table, calmly smoking his pipe amidst the turmoil. "Remember yourselves. What happened is in the past; what we must do now is find a way to forge ahead towards a brighter future."

"It's the future you wish us to be concerned about, is it?" The council member who spoke was an elderly man whose head was half wrapped in bandages, with only one narrowed eye and a crop of sharp black hair poking out. "I will tell you what would lead us to a brighter future: Heeding my advice! I _warned_ you about this, Hiruzen. I told you this would happen, and what did you do? Nothing – you did nothing!"

"You did warn us," Morino Ibiki growled. The scarred Anbu commander and head of Torture and Interrogation loomed over the table in his massive black overcoat, casting a shadow over them all. "Of course, you also warned us about a great many other things – speaking of which, has the sky fallen down on us yet? No? We'll keep waiting then, and be sure to call on you for advice when it does."

"Be reasonable, Ibiki," said the man next to him. His pointed face, goatee and ponytail all made him recognizable as Shikamaru's father, and therefore the jōnin commander of Konoha's regular forces. "You have to admit that he was correct on this count – the Sand really did sneak in their daemon host beneath our very noses. We have to consider the strategic implications of that, especially if Lord Danzō is right to infer that the boy's transformation into a Tailed state was meant as a prelude to invasion."

It was all Naruto could do to stop himself from reeling at the mention of the name. He still remembered the ominous warning in his father's letter: " _You must not, under any circumstances, trust the man called Shimura Danzō."_ The Fourth Hokage had considered him one of the primary suspects for the attack on Konoha. Jiraiya had told him afterwards, about the nightly activities of the disbanded Anbu forces that still operated under Danzō's command – answering and accountable to no one but himself. When Jiraiya said that Danzō considered Ibiki's methods to be _too soft,_ it had sent shivers down Naruto's spine.

"Damn it Shikaku, you're supposed to be on our side!" Morino Ibiki slammed a gloved fist on the table, shaking the entire structure, and looked about to use those same gloved hands to strangle Shikamaru's father when the doors closed behind Naruto and they all finally took note of his entry.

"Ah, there he is right now," the Third Hokage remarked, as though he had only just noticed him. "The provisional winner of the chūnin exams. You caused quite a stir, my boy, winning the way you did."

"Don't you _dare_ lay blame on him for that," Danzō spat. "This brave young shinobi saved the entire Village, by foiling the enemy plot that _you_ refused to do anything about. He is a shining example to his entire generation – never mind chūnin; he should be promoted to special jōnin on the spot!"

"I'm afraid the rules are quite clear on that count," the old lady next to him said primly. She squinted at Naruto, examining him. "If a contestant kills his opponent for whatever reason, he must be disqualified. While I think we can all agree that the boy's actions were nothing short of heroic, we cannot be seen to make exception to the very rules and regulations that form the foundation of our society – a shinobi must be able to follow orders, after all."

The bland-looking old man by her side nodded firmly along, humming in agreement.

"I'll be the judge of that," Morino Ibiki snarled. The scarred monster of a man was baring his teeth, as though he were deliberating which of the people in the room he would gobble up first. Naruto shrank back as his murderous eyes bored into him. " _No killing_ , I said. There will be no fighting without permission of the examiner or else you'll have to deal with me, I said. And what did you do? _What did you do?"_ His black gloves creaked as he clenched his fists. "Damn it boy, you promised me you wouldn't cause any problems!"

Technically, Naruto did not remember promising anything of the sort, but the point seemed moot. "Gaara was trying to kill me," he protested instead. "He was gonna unleash a daemon, just like mister Shikaku the jōnin commander said. There wasn't any time to think about it – it just _happened_."

"About that." An austere looking man with a blond ponytail leaned forward and gazed at him with piercing green eyes. There was something eerily familiar about those eyes, and just looking at them made Naruto feel as though his souls was being laid bare before him. "As head of intelligence under Morino Ibiki, I'm very curious to hear how you _knew_ about that."

Naruto looked uncertainly at the Third Hokage, who nodded in response.

"We're all friends and family here," the Hokage said amicably. "You may tell Inoichi-san your secret."

That still did not tell Naruto _which_ of his secrets they already knew, frustratingly enough, but it was easy enough to guess. "It's because of the… the _thing_ , in my stomach," he answered bashfully. "I could tell he was like me when we fought – I could feel it, I guess, like some kinda connection between us. And then when I saw his eyes change like that, I knew I had to stop him right away, or else it'd be too late."

"So that's how you did it." They all turned to look at the person seated at the far end of the table: A pale man dressed in white robes and brown haori who could only be the lord Hyūga himself. "You knew from your own experience that when a host loses his struggle with the daemon within, he becomes vulnerable to targeted techniques such as genjutsu and sealing, the same as any other spirit. That is how you summoned him to your position and slew him despite the sheer difference in power. Ingenious."

Naruto blinked. He would _not_ have expected the lord Hyūga to be the kind of person who also investigated the inner workings of techniques. His threat estimate for Hinata's father instantly doubled.

"A shinobi must be able to act on his own initiative," Shikamaru's father remarked. "That goes double for a member of Team Seven, and it seems fair to say that Uzumaki-san has exhibited this trait. I believe an argument can be made for his promotion after all of this. More importantly, we need to discuss-"

His words were interrupted by a banging of the gates as a truly massive mountain of a man barrelled into the room, breathing heavily. "Ahh… I'm sorry, I was, held up by, the old lady and then – the new meeting room. I was confused. I thought, with the Hokage building…" he trailed off.

"Ah, Chōza, I'm glad you could make it," The Third Hokage said congenially. "Please, take a seat."

The massive man, who could only be Chōji's father, stared at the one remaining seat and visibly paled. It was the one next to Shimura Danzō, who was staring at Chōza with not a flicker of emotion on his face.

"You can sit next to me, Chōza," the austere man offered, as he moved to sit next to Danzō. The giant man shuffled to the freed-up seat with tangible relief, and squeezed in between the blond man and Shikaku – who endured the sweaty elbow that was pressed against his face with only a slight grimace.

Naruto stared dazedly at the sight, his gaze traveling down the line of faces as he regarded each of the council members in turn. Morino Ibiki first of all, for the man enjoyed torture as a profession, but equally the bandaged elder called Shimura Danzō, who his father had mistrusted so much. That there was an enmity between them was clear, but could it be that his father had also become tangled up in it?

 _One of the people in this room is the Enemy,_ he thought, shakily. _It has to be. Why else would anyone go to so much trouble to kill the Fourth, if they didn't expect to gain a position of power in return?_

He looked at the massive Chōza, who seemed so out of place, and did not buy it for a second. He had seen first-hand how the Akimichi clan used their weight in battle – their mastery over their bodies was second to none – and even now the pills Chōji had given him were all that kept him upright. No, Naruto would not be fooled into thinking that you had to look like a ninja to act like one, not for one moment.

His eyes travelled further down the line, to the austere man with the red coat and the blond ponytail, and suddenly Naruto realized where he had seen that face before: It was the same person who had been there the night after Mizuki got captured, the one who had been trying to _control his mind_. Ino's father: The head of the Yamanaka clan and the Leaf's purifier of unsavoury thoughts. As head of intelligence the man was responsible for most of Ibiki's dirty work – much to the torturer's chagrin – yet could you ever be truly certain that a mind-reader was working for you and not the other way around?

And then there were the others: The jōnin commander, Shikamaru's father, who was suspect purely because of his supposed brilliance and his role as Leaf's strategist. If anyone could have engineered such a convoluted scheme to kill the Fourth, it was him. He turned to the elderly lady with the squinted eyes, whose traditional bun and hairpin made it quite clear where she stood politically, and the docile man next to her (Her brother, or her husband?). With two votes already, how much power did she truly have? And then of course there was the Lord Hyūga, whose milky white eyes saw all and knew all, and watched Naruto always. If he controlled the flow of so much vital information, then surely he could also control the actions of everybody in this room.

Naruto jumped slightly as the Third Hokage rose from his seat and advanced in his direction. "Come, let us take this conversation elsewhere," he said, beckoning. "I would like to talk to you in private."

Naruto blinked as he realized that the Third was _still sitting in his seat_ at the head of the table, arguing with the rest of the council and calming their emotions as he had before. "Right," he said, still shaking. _Of course the Leaf's 'Professor' can use shadow clones too – he knows every single technique!_

The Third Hokage guided him out of the room, the doors closing behind them once more, and advanced into the darkness of the corridor. "I imagine you were quite eager to get out of that room," the Third said, chuckling. "I know I was. Those council members will talk your ears right off, if you let them."

"Right," Naruto said again, still in a daze. He followed after the Third, who led them to a much smaller office, where the ancient shinobi sat down behind a simple wooden desk. Decorating the wall next to the window, pictures of past Hokage stared down at them; all four of them including the Third himself.

Naruto gazed at the sight of his father's face, which looked so very much like his own. The rare image stirred up strange feelings within him. He had thought that Morino Ibiki was the one person who had gained more from his father's death than anyone else, but he realized now that it was not true. There was one other who had gained more: If the rumours were true, the Third Hokage had been forced to step down after the Third Great War because of the massive casualties they had sustained for only the most meagre peace terms in return. It was a young hero of that war, one who had contributed more to their victory than anyone else, who had been appointed to take up his mantle.

And then that young hero had died not three years later, and the Third had been forced to step up once more, solemnly continuing his rule for just as long as it took to find another suitable successor.

"Ah, I see you have spotted Minato's picture," the Third Hokage said wistfully. He took off his conical headdress and placed it beside him on the wooden desk. Though well-preserved but for a few liver spots, the expression on his face him look older than ever. "It is hard to believe that it has been fourteen years already, since he passed. I must apologize for failing to visit you since the early days of your youth – I kept meaning to, yet every time I cleared some time in my agenda, it seemed my assistants found something more pressing for me to do. I still remember, though, the sight of you in your mother's belly, as well as the warm glow on your father's face when he first beheld you."

Naruto hesitated, trying to make sense of the strange sight before him. While he had not believed Chōza's bumbling for a moment, the Hokage seemed to be shifting in and out of focus before his eyes: On the surface was the kindly grandfather and wise old ruler, but then there was the tiniest flicker of something else underneath – and Naruto had no idea which if any of those aspects he ought to believe.

"Speaking of more pressing matters," he said, ever so carefully, "shouldn't you be doing something about the whole situation with the Sand? I mean, I know it's kinda my fault and all, but the Kazekage looked really angry, so I thought..." he trailed off, helplessly.

"Oh, but I am," the Hokage said, chuckling lightly once more. "As we speak I am convening with the Kazekage and his advisors, just as I am meeting with the Council in the room next door, while at the same time resolving a sizable amount of paperwork which my assistants all assure me is of absolutely critical importance." His wrinkled eyes crinkled a little further. "I dare say that if I resolved every crucial problem in the world today, the morrow would look exactly the same, with new crises arriving with the dawn just in time to fill the void." The old man leaned forward, whispering as though conveying a secret. "Between you and me, I find that politics is mainly a matter of endurance: They come to you with questions and demanding answers, yet what they truly wish is to be heard and understood. And so you allow them to rage and vent and cry and curse, and in the end nothing has changed and yet their problems seem so much smaller, and your solutions so much more tolerable than they were before."

Naruto found himself staring again, an unbridgeable gap between him and the understanding he sought.

"Enough of such unpleasant matters," the Third said, gesturing with his pipe which had by now been snuffed. "Take a seat. Would you like some Hijiki?" He conjured forth a bowl of brown sea vegetables. "I always keep some close to hand for when Danzō is in one of his foul moods – that and some sardine balls works to resolve most of our political differences, I find." He lit up his pipe with a flick of his fingers, and a moment later he was breathing out short puffs of smoke. "Tell me, my boy: How have you been doing? Has Jiraiya been taking good care of you? You've not picked up any of his bad habits, I hope?"

"Yeah," Naruto said distractedly, still trying to digest the image of his father's adversary and the Hokage enjoying sea food together. "No actually," he corrected himself, remembering just a little of his buried anger. "He's not. I'm not. I mean, he's totally irresponsible and doesn't take raising me seriously at all." He gritted his teeth in memory. "He left me alone and didn't keep any of his promises, and then he allowed me to learn dangerous forbidden techniques without caring about the consequences just because he felt guilty about the whole thing." He paused, realizing that he might have been even angrier if he had not been allowed to learn those techniques in the first place, which would be unreasonable.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," the Third said, frowning and leaning closer, listening intently. "Go on."

Anger flared within Naruto at the condescension – he was hardly going to fall for the Hokage's tricks right after they had been _explained_ to him. "No, stop." He took a deep breath, fumbling for the many things he had wanted to say but which now seemed beyond his grasp. "Things are not all right, and it's not about my feelings either," he said carefully. "This whole exam – you've got children fighting and killing each other, and for what? Because measuring our power is so important to the Village? But then you have us doing pointless missions like painting fences. It's totally inconsistent!"

He remembered complaining about it along with Sasuke only a year ago, though it felt far longer. The Uchiha heir's gripes about his family's stolen possessions seemed so much more reasonable now.

"Such is the nature of politics, I'm afraid." The Hokage took a long drag on his pipe, looking thoughtful. "We each have our will and we each get our say. If I had everything my way, certainly, the academy would finish at a later age and our youths would have more time to develop. But if lord Danzō were Hokage, the Village would look different also, and so we find a golden road in the middle to traverse."

"But the end result makes no sense!" Naruto forcibly calmed himself down again. "Okay, look. I get why you'd want to let someone be heard even if you disagree with them, but if what this Danzō wants is so much worse than what we have right now, then it sounds like he's just an evil person. Why listen to him instead of literally anybody else in the Village? Because his ruthlessness allowed him to amass power and so he gets to be a representative? That sounds like a completely arbitrary way to try and be fair."

"And now you start to sound like Ibiki," the Third laughed, before turning serious again. "Believe me, in my forty years as Hokage I have heard this argument once or twice before. Everyone always seems to think that the Hokage is all-powerful, that we can call any reality we wish into being. I suppose our overly embellished historical accounts are to blame for that." He frowned at Naruto, pushing aside the bowl of vegetables. "Do you imagine Lord Danzō is alone in his views? That all we need do is silence him, and our problems will be past?"

"No, but I bet it would help." How had Gaara put it, exactly? _Killing is called justice when you have power and injustice when you have none._ "We're ninjas – we're supposed to solve our problems through murder, so how come it's only ever the ones following orders who seem to die?" All of those innocent people who had died in the Land of Waves, and for what? Because the Eternal Mizukage had thought his ninjas ought to be without empathy – and it seemed the Mist was only doing better now that he was gone. A picture was starting to emerge in Naruto's mind, of a war fought not between nations but between those who meant to keep things the way they were and those who intended to _fight back._

"I see," said the Third. "And if Ibiki seizes power then, after finding himself uncontested, should I silence him also? Where would it end, exactly?" The Hokage sighed, and turned in his chair, watching out the window to where the first stars could be seen twinkling in the evening sky. "All over the world, darkness is spreading; a continuous rolling tide of hatred that never seizes in its attempts to swallow us whole. For all the power we possess, how are we to fight an enemy that lives within each of us? That is the reason the First Hokage founded this Village in the first place: The whole concept behind the Will of Fire is to find a way for individuals of all stripes to do good together, so that not all of us need be angels."

For a while it was silent, as they both watched the stars together. Perhaps there was some special kind of wisdom to be found there, but if so Naruto could not see it. They just looked like stars to him.

"Maybe you're right," Naruto said at last, not trusting his shaking voice to speak unless he controlled its every word. "Or maybe, when you think about simple things for long enough, they start to look really complex and hard to solve, and you allow yourself to imagine that you're the only one wise enough to fix them. And maybe, if you've been in power for a very long time, you start worrying mostly about distant abstract things that just so happen to justify the current situation, and you tell yourself that the everyday problems of common people are really not so bad after all." He took a deep breath, and forced himself to look the most powerful man in the world in the eye. "You just had an exam where children fight and kill each other. That's wrong. The exam was organized by a man who tortures people and whose band of masked killers makes people disappear into the night. That's wrong. You took most of Sasuke's money just because you could, and you allowed Danzō to have his own personal army of assassins just to appease your political rival. That's wrong too."

He turned aside, for blood was pounding in his ears, and it reminded him of Kurama's voice – speaking for the first time of the hypocrisy of men who kept him enslaved for all those years, none of them imagining it their responsibility to free him, yet feeling at liberty to use his power all the same.

"Bad things are not gonna stop being bad just because you invent reasons for them," Naruto concluded. He remembered trying to convince Haku not to fight them in the Land of Waves, and how hopeless it had felt; the inevitability of everyone dying for no reason, and the sheer pointlessness of it all. "My teacher told me over and over again about the dangers of being clever, about how arguments are just an excuse for smart people to be dumb, and now I feel like I finally understand what he meant by that."

The Hokage was still sitting there, not having moved a muscle, appearing to have listened as intently as he had at the start. "I really should have visited you earlier," he mused. "You grew up – not the same as your father, but with Minato's intelligence and your mother's strong personality, perhaps..."

"I dunno about _that_ ," Naruto said with more than a touch of bitterness. "I never met either of them, so I suppose you would know better than me, Hokage-sama. But if my dad really was as great as they say, then I hope he wouldn't have accepted any of this either. I suppose they did kill him for that in the end, so maybe you're right and it's better to play it safe – but then the Enemy never felt the need to kill _you_."

The room fell deathly silent, and Naruto instantly regretted his words as he realized he had just insulted the most powerful man in the world in his own office, but it was too late to take it back. "I'm sorry," he said, "but I just fought and killed someone and I'm very tired right now, Lord Hokage. Please give me some time to rest, and we can talk more some other time – uh, I mean, if you still want to."

"Yes… yes, of course," the Third Hokage said, sounding as though he had not quite heard what Naruto said but was agreeing to it anyway. The fire in his pipe had gone out again, and he looked at it with a morose expression on his face. "You may leave, if you wish."

Naruto hastily got up, feeling as though he should apologize again but deciding against it, and headed for the door. Right as he was about to turn the knob, he heard the Third's voice again.

"Just one more question before you dispel your cloned body, Uzumaki Naruto. Tell me: Why did you really decide to murder the Fourth Kazekage's son?"

Naruto froze, his muscles halting mid-movement as his mind searched for an answer that was not there. As always, he fell back on honesty instead. "He threatened to kill my friends, Hokage-sama."

"I see," said the Hokage, sounding tired and yet vaguely satisfied. "That is the best reason there is. You will become a strong shinobi, I think."

Naruto dispelled himself, and when he opened his eyes again he was sitting at the kitchen table, trying to explain to Jiraiya what had happened that day and feeling twice as exhausted as he had before.

* * *

 **A/N:** That's it for now! I've reached the end of my pre-written material, and although I have planned out the rest of the story long in advance, I now need to spend some time to write up the next act. Well, technically we reached the end of act 3 a while ago - probably when Naruto was being trained by Jiraiya - so maybe this is act 3b? I dunno, the act structure has gotten a little wonky.

The point is, there won't be any chapters for a while. In the meantime, please check out Scar's Samsara if you haven't already: It's a finished rational story set in the Lion King universe which features magical kung-fu animals, so it's basically the same as Naruto! I have the sequel to this story just about finished, and I'm planning to start posting that while I write up the next act so you guys have something to read while you wait. Needless to say it's incredibly hard to write two stories at the same time, but hopefully I can juggle it and it won't cause any further delays.

Aside from that, please feel free to leave a review to let me know what you think of the story so far, and I hope to see you guys again soon!


	37. Heroic Responsibility

**Author's note:** Sorry for the delay in updates, everyone. I recently lost my job and am now trying to get everything back on track. If you would like to support me financially, you can now donate to me as a Patron on the website that shall not be named (/Sophronius). The story itself will continue to be free, so please don't feel any obligation to donate if you cannot readily afford it.

Thank you for your support and/or understanding.

* * *

"What happened?" Jiraiya had asked, worry plain in his voice.

"I got into a fight with a boy at school today," Naruto had said in reply. "He said something nasty about my friends, so I hurt him – I hurt him real bad. I had to go to the professor's office to explain, but I was still angry about it, and so I ended up making him angry at me too."

Hot tea had been shared between them, assurances were made to accompany promises of a better tomorrow, and finally Naruto had gone to bed with a heavy heart – for no more worrying phrase had ever been spoken than that everything would be all right.

And then the next morning he woke up, only to find a note lying on the kitchen table.

* * *

Another explosion reverberated through the forest surrounding Konoha, causing what few birds remained to take to the skies and flee in the opposite direction of where Kakashi was going. The disturbance was coming from one of the training areas set up near the Village, where there was no property to be destroyed and where civilians knew to stay well away from. There were special underground compounds where Anbu could practice jōnin-level techniques in secret, and of course the Noble clans all had their own facilities, but such a provision was deemed unnecessary for regular front-line soldiers.

As always, the rules failed to accommodate those who refused to fall within the usual boundaries.

Kakashi landed at the edge of the clearing, which was by now twice as large as it has been before. All around what had once been a peaceful forest glade lay shattered pieces of timber and smoking tree stumps, and the grass was coated in a sea of splinters. It looked as if someone had attached explosive tags to each of the trees and set them all off at once, but the size of the scorch marks did not quite match up.

Right in the middle of the devastation stood a single teenager, dressed in a standard issue black-and-green chūnin uniform. He might have looked like any other Konoha ninja, if not for that familiar mess of blond hair.

"Naruto?" Kakashi approached cautiously, not wanting to startle his student. There was an air of quiet danger that wafted from the boy which he did not like one bit. "What are you doing?"

"I was trying out a variation of the summoning technique to call forth a responsible adult." The boy turned to regard Kakashi with a sullen expression. "Needs some work."

Kakashi slowly let out the breath he had been holding. For a moment there he had almost thought that the Nine-tails had broken free, but it was just Naruto being Naruto as always. "That's quite a bit of damage you did to that training ground," he said lightly. "I wonder how you're planning to repair it?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I think we can afford to lose a few trees, sensei. It's not like they are _people."_ As if to drive home his point, he lobbed a kunai at one of the few training posts that remained standing, which instantly exploded and shattered into a thousand pieces on impact.

Kakashi gazed at the sight in wonder. _There wasn't any explosive tag attached to that kunai. Did he make the chakra of the cloned knife itself explosive?_ Naruto had done the same thing in his fight against Gaara, he remembered. But Explosion Release was supposed to be a rare bloodline that only existed in the Land of Earth, though Akatsuki was also rumoured to have acquired it. _Jiraiya-sensei… just what have you been teaching my student?_

Naruto was still staring resentfully at the shattered post as if he held it personally accountable for all the world's problems. "Then again, trees might be brainless, but at least they don't actively make things worse. So maybe we should replace all the world's leaders with trees. What do you think, Kakashi-sensei?"

"An interesting notion," Kakashi said dryly. "I'm sure the Temple of Fire monks would love to discuss the merits of perennial hegemony with you over a cup of tea. Me, I would need something a lot stronger." He cocked his head at his student. "You got me worried there for a moment, Naruto. What is this about?"

"Nothing really." He conjured a coil of rope from a scroll and attached several more kunai along one end. "The head of torture and interrogation made us fight giant chakra monsters inside a place called the Forest of Death, we took part in a giant death tournament in which I killed a fellow student… nothing out of the ordinary, really." He swung the rope around him in wide arcs, then let go of it at the apex of its swing so that it flew at the nearest tree and coiled itself around the trunk. "You know, I used to think that learning rationality gave me some sort of advantage. That it made me stronger than people who thought themselves too good to learn how to think. But then I ended up doing the same stupid crap as everyone else, and now I gotta wonder if maybe I'm the one who was lying to himself all along."

Naruto gave the rope a sharp pull, and when that did not work, formed a single handsign that caused all the kunai to detonate. There was a sound like a thunderclap followed by a shower of splinters as the entire midsection of the tree was blown off. The top groaned and collapsed right between Kakashi and his student, impacting the ground with a resounding crash that was almost louder than the explosion itself.

Kakashi stared at his student impassively. "I've never heard of anyone being this upset over a general lack of rationality," He said mildly. "A teenager being frustrated with his own helplessness however, feeling like he's not understood by the world or his friends… Well, that wouldn't be the strangest thing."

Naruto opened his mouth to bite out a retort, but seemed to think better of it. He lowered his gaze to the fallen tree that lay between them. "Maybe. I guess I would feel better if there was someone else who I could trust with all of this stuff. If I could just relax a little, knowing that even if I failed, someone else would take care of the mess I created. But I guess if Jiraiya was still in the Village, he'd tell me that the whole point of being a hero is that you never get to feel that way."

He took out another kunai from his pouch, this one with a tag around the handle, and Kakashi realized in shock that the dagger had three prongs. Naruto threw it at one of the logs in the centre of the clearing, and when it struck the wood it vanished and left Naruto in its place. The boy was crouching on top of the tree stump, one foot still touching the place where the kunai had landed.

"Naruto," Kakashi breathed, "You couldn't have. That's the Fourth's…"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "The same as the Fourth Hokage. Now maybe I too can kill three hundred people, become leader of the Village, and die three years later without having changed a damned thing."

Kakashi frowned, still recovering from the earlier shock. "Is that what this is about? Naruto, the Fourth really was a hero. He was…" _The greatest man I ever met._ "A leader, someone who inspired a whole generation, even if he did not live long enough to see it. If he had not ended the war, back then…"

"Ended the war," Naruto repeated hollowly. "You know, I asked Sakura how he did that, since it seemed like the kind of thing that would require a lot of smarts to pull off. I figured that if I could just copy his methods for securing peace, then maybe I could achieve the same thing one day. Do you know what she told me, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi did not need to guess: He had learned the truth first-hand, even if Minato-sensei had never spoken of it. He could only imagine where Sakura had found a record that told about that fateful day, when Minato returned only to find him alongside the bodies of his friends. There had been a change then, in his sensei, as the man who he had been taking for granted assumed an expression Kakashi had never seen on him before.

"The Fourth decided to stop holding back," Kakashi answered.

"Three hundred people," Naruto said. "An average of one hundred Rock Ninjas per day." He held up his fingers as if to count them all up. "I don't have access to the official numbers, but Sakura checked the math for me once. All of Konoha can't have more than fifty real jōnin. That's fifty people who represent the bulk of our military potential, since even if you can throw enough genin and chūnin at them to fend them off, a team of jōnin can always just run away and come back to fight another day." He gritted his teeth. "Fifty people to protect a nation. And for the sake of fifty people, they'd fight a war."

Kakashi could once again hear the voice of Zabuza in his head, almost as if he were still alive and all the reports of his death were a lie. _"You can't possibly have been a jōnin for so long and still be this naïve, Kakashi. All the people in this dirt village combined are worth less than even one true ninja. Entire countries like the Land of Rain were reduced to rubble by you and your people during the Second War just because it was a convenient battleground, or did you forget?"_

"Fifty people," Naruto said again. "The Hidden Rock has more ninjas than anyone – mostly because of their abysmal recruiting standards if my textbooks are to be believed – but still. Three hundred people to stop a war… it doesn't sound so terribly much when you put it that way, does it?"

Minato had not been able to target the heart of the enemy – could not risk teleporting right next to the Tsuchikage and his bodyguards even with his skill, but anyone less powerful than that was fair game. He had spread his teleportation seals all across Konoha, so that he could attack any encampment whenever he saw an opportunity. If the enemy sent scouts, he would kill them himself. If they sent a larger force, he would summon toads and use shadow clones to bombard the whole area with seals to wipe them out.

It was joked in Konoha that even now, Rock Ninjas would check underneath their beds for Flying Thunder God Seals before going to sleep.

"And then," said Naruto, his voice wavering, "and then whenever he got too tired to keep fighting, he would just teleport back home to his wife. They would share a tender moment, I guess, have a nice meal, and take a quick nap. And then when he woke up, he would just get up and do it all over again."

At the end of the third day, the Rock Ninjas had grown wise to these tactics. They gathered all of their shinobi together, set up every seal and defensive technique they could imagine, and moved on Konoha as a single densely packed unit. They had thought themselves safe. They had thought themselves _smart._

On the fourth day, meteors had rained from the sky.

No one knew how the Fourth had done it. Some said he had awakened the Rinnegan, despite his total lack of Senju or Uchiha ancestry. Others said it was the single greatest sealing jutsu ever created, taught to him by his wife Uzumaki Kushina. Minato had never told anyone, declaring it a forbidden technique. And though the council had protested fiercely, they were only too happy to name him Hokage for his deed. Even Danzo had given Minato his seal of approval, which must have been what hurt him most of all.

And then three years later, he had died, taking all of his secrets to his grave.

"I never understood it," Naruto said, "why anyone would assign ninjas to blow up a bridge, the way you were forced to. It seemed so _stupid_ , given how the whole point of being a ninja is that you can strike at any place and without warning. I didn't understand why our leaders didn't just do the sensible thing and target the enemy shinobi, since that and knowledge are the only things of actual value in this world."

Kakashi was once again back in the rower's house, staring that stupid, obstinate, dead bridge builder in the eye. _"I'm saying this was never about your bloody bridge. Do you understand? Your bridge is worth nothing, you stubborn old fool! You dragged us into your petty conflict with your lies, and now my enemies are coming to kill us all."_ He shook his head, feeling suddenly tired. That had almost felt like genjutsu just now, but when he flared his chakra the world looked much the same as it had before.

Naruto's hands had clenched into fists. "It bothered me so much, I actually went back and checked my old history books, and in between all the propaganda I finally found the one line that made sense of it all: _Afterwards, this prolonged period of skirmishes came to be known as the Third Great Shinobi War._ " He gritted his teeth. "Afterwards – not during! People didn't think of it as a world war back then, because why would they? It was just business as usual, with ninjas fighting and killing each other over stupid missions, only with a slightly higher frequency than what we're doing right now."

Kakashi sagged against the nearest tree. Obito's eye was aching for some reason. Perhaps it was because of all the training he had been doing to try and reach its full potential. His body had never fully adjusted to the transplant, and there were only so many medical ninjas who he could trust to check on it.

"So let me make a guess, and you can tell me how close I am, sensei: There's a Five Kage summit, and afterwards the Daimyo's wife's cat suddenly dies. The Daimyo decides that this must be the Eternal Mizukage's revenge for that insult the Hokage dealt him, and so his wife hires a team of Leaf ninjas to get back at him by abducting his pet lobster or something. Realizing that only the Hidden Rock would stoop so low as to attack an innocent lobster, the Mizukage retaliates by killing the Tsuchikage's third grandcousin, twice removed, and makes it look like his enemies in the Sand did it. Furious, the Tsuchikage orders a team of jōnin to sneak in and clip the overly large fertility symbol known as the Sand's Holy Tanuki Statue of its prime assets. At which point the Kazekage, who is not known for his sense of humour, orders Lady Chiyo of the Honoured Siblings to take her puppet army and massacre every single living being in Tanzaku Castle." He glanced up sharply at Kakashi. "Does that sound about right?"

Kakashi smiled weakly. "To the best of my knowledge, the Daimyo's wife's cat is just as fat and healthy as ever, though rumour has it that a full team of genin was required to capture it after its last escape attempt."

"It was just an example," Naruto muttered. "The point is, the reason why none of the countries ever tried to destroy each other's Villages is because as far as they were concerned that was never the goal to begin with. Why would they? Even if our enemies managed to burn Konoha to the ground, all that would leave them with is an army of vengeful ninjas scattered throughout the Land of Fire: Soldiers who fight without orders, who can cross borders undetected and who are willing to infiltrate your country over a period of years if need be, and who are never gonna pause in their quest to hunt you down because it's all they know. No, far better to send the occasional assassin after each other's cousins, and afterwards make up over a nice bowl of Sake and maybe some Hijiki with sardine balls on the side."

The boy stared down from his log at the field of splinters that stretched out before him. "If anyone had _really_ been at war with us, it would've been like Hidden Whirlpool: One day, my family decided to devote all their resources to sealing research, and then the next they were suddenly not _there_ anymore." He shook his head. "The fact is, we were never at war with the Hidden Rock until the Fourth Hokage decided otherwise. It was the most terrible thing he ever did, and everyone loved him for it."

Kakashi regarded his number-one-most-obstinate student wearily. Not even Ibiki would arrest Naruto for talking about replacing the world's leaders with trees, but this was serious. The boy knew too much to be seen as harmless, but had too little sense to keep his knowledge a secret. Especially after his fight with Gaara, people had taken _notice_ of his abilities, and they would come after him before long _._ It was all well and good while it was Kakashi's own Anbu team that was watching the boy, but some of the newer recruits were more zealous – more in line with Lord Danzō's thinking. And then there were the all-seeing Hyūga, and the Yamanaka clan with their mind-reading abilities…

 _Minato-sensei… what am I supposed to do with him? I'm a ninja. I don't know anything about children._

He looked into Naruto's mind once again, trying to see if there was anything else that might alarm him. From the boy's perspective, it would look like he still had his headband lowered, but the Sharingan could peer through even the tiny hole which he had left in the illusion wrought by the transformation technique. A more attentive person might have noticed the tiniest shimmer in the place where his left eye would be, but Naruto had never paid much attention to detail, even when there were no illusions to hide them.

"Well," he said lightly, "sad as the general state of affairs may be, I would hold off on your world-conquering ambitions for a little while longer. It's a little known fact that jōnin-teachers compete with the number of promotions their students manage to attain before dying, and between the three of you I'm _this_ close to not finishing last." He looked Naruto in the eye, focussing chakra through his Sharingan as he evoked the message ' _I gotta stop saying this sort of thing out loud'._ The trick was to phrase it in such a way as to make it indistinguishable from the target's own thoughts, so they would remember it as their own idea. The boy's natural desire for internal consistency would take care of the rest.

Naruto glowered at him, not seeming to appreciate the humour of his last comment. "You know," he said, "I think I've finally figured out why you're always late to our team meetings, sensei."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"

"Yeah. At first I thought you were just being lazy, but no jōnin would ever survive as long as you have by being lazy. So then I figured you must be trying to teach us a lesson somehow, and I thought I'd look at the expected result and assume that was your intended goal. I concluded that you were trying to teach us not to blindly trust authority, and to take responsibility for our own development."

Kakashi took care not to smile. "You may very well think that, but-"

"But then I remembered to _look underneath the underneath_ , and I thought to myself: What if all of that is just my attempt to guess what you want to hear, when you yourself might not really know why you do the things you do? So instead I asked myself which state of mind would make your actions the most likely outcome, and focussed only on what I already know." He looked at Kakashi with uncharacteristic coldness. "So I'm gonna stick my neck out and guess that it's not just us but that you're late to all kinds of meetings, and that you had difficulty connecting with people long before you even had a team. And whatever bogus rationalization you came up with afterwards, whatever answer you claim to be the correct one, it's really just an excuse to avoid having to get close to the people you care about."

Kakashi stared at his student. In truth, he did not really know what he felt in that moment: Strong emotions had never been his suite. But he had to admit to feeling a certain indignation, resentment, even anger at his own student, and that was just no good. Still, for his own pupil to call him out on his behaviour in that way… nobody had talked to him like that since – well, that had been Obito, in point of fact.

"I see." He smiled at Naruto, who seemed slightly unnerved by this reaction. "Say, Naruto. This is unrelated, but would you mind showing me that technique of yours one more time?"

Naruto looked at his three-pronged dagger in surprise, and then after a second's hesitation lobbed it at the nearest tree. This time Kakashi body-flickered after it and caught it in mid-air, and he instantly untied the parchment that was wrapped around the handle. _I see. A summoning scroll, just like the kind that was used in the Forest of Death, inscribed with Naruto's own blood to mark himself as the target. The Fourth's shadow-cloned chakra dagger dispels upon impact, releasing the chakra stored within, which then triggers the summoning and teleports him to its location._

"Ingenious," he murmured. _But far too chakra-intensive to use for anyone who isn't Naruto, and even then it's far inferior to the Fourth's seal which did not disappear and could be used as often as desired._

"Hey," Naruto protested. "You weren't supposed to see that!"

"If you don't want your secret techniques to be revealed you shouldn't use them out in the open." He tossed the dagger at the top of the tree, causing his student to appear in the branches with an indignant squawk. As he did so, Kakashi caught a glimpse of the explosive seal that had been inscribed upon the boy's palm. "Honestly, I really must be a pretty lousy teacher if you didn't know that already."

Naruto grumbled at the rebuke even as he clambered down from his perch, and Kakashi could not help but smile at the sight. He felt strangely relieved that there had not been a second Minato hiding beneath his nose this entire time. It would have been pretty damned embarrassing to miss something like that.

 _It looks like everything is going to turn out just fine,_ he remembered thinking to himself _._


	38. Redress and Retribution

It was hard to tell what time it was from where Rasa was seated at his desk. He had always kept meticulous track of everything that happened around him, but inside that sealed guest room it was impossible to tell if the sun was even shining. Every inch of the walls, floor and ceiling had been covered in a network of seals, making them impossible to see through and impervious to harm. The air itself had been saturated with gold dust so as to disturb any spying technique that might have been hidden in the room beforehand, and the Kazekage's own sensing abilities would have told him if anything had changed in that regard.

Even so, it would be an exaggeration to say that he felt at ease in that moment.

He looked up from his paperwork when there came a knock on the door and someone entered without permission. There was only one person in the world who would dare to enter the Kazekage's chambers uninvited, and so he was not surprised to recognize the old lady standing in the doorway, for all that she was wearing a brown wig and enough makeup to look twenty years younger.

"Chiyo," he said as she closed the door behind her. "How goes the operation?"

"Well enough." She took a moment to inspect the seals on the door, making sure they were receiving enough chakra from his barrier team located in the room downstairs. Chiyo was the type of person who looked annoyed even when she could find nothing wrong in the work of others, as if it only proved that the world was trying to hide its flaws from her. "We have managed to recover some of the Sand Spirit's chakra, but its power won't be like before."

"That's good," he said distractedly. He stared back at his paperwork, trying to remember what it was that he had been working on. It probably had not been all that important, anyway.

"You should not tell the Hokage that during your meetings, however," she continued. "Let him think that we've been dealt a terrible blow: They'll be more willing to offer us compensation if they think their mission was successful. And if the vultures come for us later on, we'll use Shukaku's chakra to scare them off with a right old puppet show."

"Right."

For a long moment, silence reigned inside that dark, oppressive room. Chiyo was the first to break the quiet, as was usually the case. "Have you considered Aconite? It's almost untraceable."

"She'd trace it."

"Cyanide then. We'll off him before that nasty slug witch gets the chance to do anything about it."

He shook his head, still staring at his paperwork, though the kanji inscribed on the scrolls might as well have been meaningless scribbles at this point. "We would not be able to get away in time."

"There has to be some way," she insisted. "What about…"

"Chiyo, there is no point!" He clenched and unclenched his hands, trying vainly to keep the frustration out of his voice. "If that man has any sense at all, he's using a shadow clone in every single one of our meetings. Even if we were to locate his true body somehow, it would still be nearly impossible to get close to him. And then if we did manage to poison him despite his guards, Tsunade would just cure him anyway. And we would still be in the middle of a hostile village, surrounded on all sides by the most powerful army in the world!"

She frowned. "We'll use a different approach, then. We have close to three hundred shinobi here with us. We can use them to-"

"Chiyo, no."

"You can't mean to let them get away with this. They killed your son!"

"It might have been an accident. They were fighting in a tournament…"

She scoffed loudly. "An accident? Rasa, you can't possibly still be that naïve. The boy intentionally dragged out the fight until Gaara was forced to call on Shukaku's power, then waited for the spirit to take over his mind to summon him to his position. He slashed him with a chakra blade across the seal on his stomach, and then stabbed him through the brain before I could react. Any less and I could have saved either the Spirit or the boy. This was an assassination, Rasa!"

"You can't prove-"

She slapped a parchment down onto his desk. It was portrait, a painting of a man who could only be fourth Hokage himself. "Look familiar? They destroyed almost every image of him in the Leaf, but some of us in the Sand are old enough to remember." The image blurred in front of the Kazekage's eyes, but the only thing he really needed to see was the colour of the man's hair. "That clanless genin Gaara was supposed to fight to show off his abilities to our rivals? That was the son of the Yellow Flash!"

He hesitated. "It might not have been the Hokage who planned it. There are others, within the leaf…"

"A leader is responsible for everything that is done by his subordinates. I'm sure I taught you that much back when you were still in your swaddling cloth." She leaned away from his desk. "He has a son too, you know. Sarutobi Asuma. He's a skilled jōnin – used to be a bodyguard for the Fire Daimyo – but it shouldn't be too hard to make sure he doesn't come back from one of his missions."

Rasa shook his head. "I will not hold a son accountable for the crimes of his father."

"The boy, then. He's the one that did the deed, after all."

"A mere tool, brainwashed by the Leaf to do its dirty work, if what you say is true."

She squinted at him. "Are you trying to talk your way out of this? You can't mean to let them get away with killing your son. You would lose support in the council, and other countries would think of us as weak. Sure, he was a liability – always has been. But he was still your son."

"My son is dead!" He slammed his hands upon his desk. "Gaara is dead, and there is nothing in the world that can change that. I could burn down all of Konoha and it would change _nothing._ Do you understand, you crooked old witch? Or did you finally become as senile as you always pretend to be?"

She said nothing, only watched patiently as she waited for his tirade to end.

"This is all your fault! If you had not turned my boy into a demon host he would never have gone mad. Gaara would still be alive." His voice caught. "And the light of my life, Karura, would still be beside me… but you had to take them both away from me. Are you so haunted by the deaths of your own children that you must destroy my life as well?" He barked out a wild and bitter laugh. "Oh, but I see it now. This is all your doing, isn't it? This entire time you have been manipulating me, trying to get me to destroy the Leaf for the sake of your own vengeance. Perhaps it was you then, who killed my son?"

There was a sharp clap as her hand slapped across his face, and his head snapped to the side from the force of the blow. He stared at her numbly, not quite sure what had just happened. In all the forty years of his life, in all his time as Kazekage, nobody had ever dared hit him before.

"You are not old enough to go mad with grief," she said calmly. "Try another twenty years of ruining all that you touch, watching everything you love turn to ash until you have nothing left. Then, you have my permission to go mad – preferably well after I am done turning in my grave."

He touched his glowing cheek, which burned fiercely. To touch the Kazekage was death, but somehow, the rules never seemed to apply to Lady Chiyo. "What would you have me do, then?" He buried his head inside his hands. "What am I to do?"

She looked at him with not a sign of remorse or pity. But then, that was why she was his advisor: In front of anyone else the Kazekage could not afford to show weakness, but weakness was all her beady little eyes ever saw, and so there was no point in pretending.

"Continue your meetings with the Hokage. Get as high a price for your son's life as you can manage. And then, we'll find a way to make them _really_ pay."

* * *

Sharp claps rang across the courtyard as quick jabs were parried and feet scraped over rough dirt. Hinata struck out, but Neji's defence was flawless as always, turning her hand aside without ever so much as coming near her outstretched palms. At the last second the tip of her index finger curved around and flicked towards his wrist, but he hastily leaped back to avoid the attack. Not a moment later he was on top of her again, driving her back with a furious chain of attacks.

Hyūga Hiashi watched the sparring match from his balcony with consternation, not liking what he saw one bit. By all rights he should be euphoric about the fact that Hinata was keeping up with Neji – the fact that the two of them were even willing to train together was a miracle by itself – but in his long years as head of the Hyūga clan he had learned that everything came at a price. Her progress was too fast, too different from anything she had shown before to be the result of any natural development.

People did not change. Even when they did, it only proved that they had always had the natural capacity for it, and so in a sense they had not truly changed at all. Hinata had never shown any capacity for change. Even when she had been promoted to genin, even having gained new teachers, even when she had sworn a vow on her mother's grave that she would become a worthy heiress to the Hyūga clan, she had not changed. Just like her mother, she had been incorruptibly, incontrovertibly, _nice._

Niceness was not a good trait to have, if you wanted to survive in a world of ninjas.

A scream of pain shook him out of reverie. Hinata recoiled from where Neji had touched her chest and collapsed onto the ground in agony. For a moment Neji seemed taken aback, and glanced at the guards around them as if he were afraid they would kill him on the spot, but then Hinata grasped a clump of dirt and hurled it at his face. At the same time she kicked out and struck Neji's shin with her heel, and as he lost his footing she screamed again and leaped up to drive home her advantage, launching a series of vicious kicks and punches half of which did not even use the Gentle Fist technique.

"That's not proper form," Hiashi's father protested from his seat down in the common room. "You should discipline your daughter at once, Hiashi. She'll never master the true Hyuga style this way."

 _Proper form be damned,_ thought Hiashi. _She's fighting to win._ His knuckles ached from where he held the railing in a death grip, until they turned whiter than even his robes and the walls around them. He might have been able to believe it if Hinata had just shown a gradual increase in confidence and skill, but this? This was not normal. _I was not born with the Byakugan just so I could fail to recognize my own daughter from a greater distance._

"Lord Hiashi?" It was Ko, the branch member who had been assigned as Hinata's personal bodyguard. He had walked up to him from behind, and it was a sign of how distracted Hiashi was that he had almost not seen him approach. "The Lord Uchiha has arrived."

"Lead him to my chambers, and keep your Byakugan on him at all times." Hiashi turned and strode back inside, heading straight towards his private chambers. He could have used the main reception hall instead to try and intimidate his guest, but he somehow doubted the Uchiha would be all that impressed. Besides which, he expected he would need privacy from even his own clan for this meeting, and his own quarters were best equipped for that.

He entered into his own personal tea room, which was designed for welcoming formal visitors. There were no servants allowed in this section of the compound, which also meant that there was nobody to offer him a change of robes, but then it was not as if he even possessed any non-formal robes to begin with. He took off his sandals and assumed the seiza position atop the host mat, which was placed in between two white marble statues of his ancestors as if he were just one more fixture of that room.

It did not take long for his guest to be ushered inside the room. After a brief announcement from a servant, the door slid closed behind him, allowing all of the seals to form a perfect enclosure once more. It was strange how blind he felt without the ability to see the entire compound, and yet it still felt safer. Secure in the knowledge that for once, he did not have to put up an act in front of his own family.

"Lord Hyūga."

He looked at the Uchiha with regular eyes. He looked… young. Noble and proper, dressed in his own black Uchiha kimono, but still so terribly young. It was hard to remember that this teenager was a credible threat to his family.

"Lord Uchiha," he said. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with me. Please, sit down."

The boy sat seiza on the other side of the traditional tea set Hiashi always kept ready for such an occasion. "Forgive me," the Uchiha said, indicating the ornate tray and cups. "My family trained me in the custom, but I must admit it has been a long time since I had the opportunity to practice. I fear I would embarrass you with my mistakes."

Hiashi nodded. _Even odds that he remembers them perfectly, and simply does not care._ In frankness, he could not say that the blamed the boy. As far as he was concerned, tea ceremonies were the greatest waste of time since the civilian trade confederation, and everyone involved in its invention ought to fall on their own swords – rear first if possible.

"I'll simply pour then," he said, being quite fond of the substance itself. There were all kinds of messages you could convey by choosing the type of tea and the method with which you served it, the intricate subtleties of which he could have better appreciated if it did not take so much bloody time. "Which flavour do you prefer?"

"I've always been quite partial to black tea," the teenager said. "Though lately I've taken more of a liking to white tea."

Hiashi narrowed his eyes. This boy, it seemed, also preferred his subtlety to not be of the time-wasting variety. He touched a seal in the centre of the hearth-mat, and a steaming pot of Silver Needle tea appeared on top of it. From it wafted a faint floral aroma, like fresh wildflowers with a hint of honey.

"I should congratulate you on your promotion," he said as he poured. "Young Neji is the strongest branch member of his generation. Your victory over him was most impressive."

The boy smiled politely. It was striking how much his black hair and robes contrasted with everything else in that room – as if he were a living shadow that refused to allow light near it. Or possibly just a smudge that refused to be wiped out. "Your nephew was a fearsome opponent," the boy agreed. "The Hyūga blood runs strong within his veins."

The Lord Uchiha took a long sip from his tea cup. The Lord Hyūga did the same.

"I understand you have taken to sparring with him," Hiashi said lightly.

"As I said, he was a formidable opponent. I'd be a fool to pass on the opportunity."

Hiashi nodded. "I see. And is that also the reason you have begun training with my daughter? To improve on your own abilities?" He took another sip from his cup.

This time the boy actually seemed to hesitate a little, perhaps coming to realize the danger he had put himself in. Everyone would realize what had happened if the Uchiha never made it out of this room, but that did not mean that Hiashi could not arrange for an accident to happen at some later date. He had a clan. The boy did not.

"I would say that the training is of mutual benefit," the Uchiha said at last.

"Indeed." Hiashi put down the cup with a _clink_. "And in what way, exactly, are you benefiting from my daughter?"

The boy looked at him, not a trace of the Sharingan to be seen in those dark grey eyes. "I am interested in becoming part of the Hyūga clan."

It was fortunate that Hiashi had already put down his cup, for else he might have made a rather embarrassing spill.

"One normally enters a clan through marriage," he said. "Perhaps I was misinformed, but I believe you have already been, ah, accounted for?"

"I am, and I care for Sakura very much," Sasuke said. He carefully put down his own cup, making sure it made no sound at all. "But we both know that there is a difference between a romantic interest and marriage." He folded his hands together, looking very sincere indeed. "I am without a clan, Lord Hyūga. As your nephew so succinctly pointed out, without a family I might as well be the Lord of Nothing. I am, however, still entitled to a seat on the Konoha council. I believe this is an arrangement we both could benefit from.

Hiashi leaned back. The proposal was mad at the face of it, but he had long learned not to take anything at face value. The Uchiha name still inspired awe, and for two major clans to merge through marriage was hardly unheard of. He had spent endless time and effort positioning himself as a crucial swing vote on the council, balancing the power of each faction until both sides were ready to offer him their firstborn sons for his support. With another vote to his name, however… the Hyūga might actually be able to steer the Village in their own direction.

"And for this purpose," he said slowly, "you have been training with my daughter."

The boy had the grace at least to look embarrassed. "Yes sir. As I said, I believe the arrangement to be of mutual benefit. She herself asked me to help her achieve her true potential, using whatever means necessary."

Hiashi gave the teenager a long, hard look. Uchiha Sasuke. The last of a long line of traitors and backstabbers, cursed with baleful red eyes that seemed to inflict misery wherever their gaze turned. Hiashi had not forgotten the disdain with which the boy's parents had treated the Hyūga, spreading foul rumours and mocking the clan in front of the whole village with their silver tongues and hypnotic eyes. But the question was, did the boy know? Did he _know?_

He was handsome at least, he had to grant him that. Smooth, pale skin, not unlike that of a Hyūga. If he and Hinata did end up having children…

He shook the thought away. "My daughter has benefited from the greatest teachers the Hyūga clan has to offer. In addition to that, she has served as a genin under a very well-regarded jōnin sensei for over a year. What makes you think you would fare any better?"

"I would not dare claim to be more skilled as a teacher, my lord. Rather, it's the method that is different." The Uchiha looked him in the eye. "As you know, the Sharingan has a limited ability to impart suggestions. Though actual mind control lies solely within the domain of the Yamanaka clan, upon Lady Hinata's own request I was able to impart the suggestion that she _become her own true self._ The effect is mostly psychological: As long as she believes that the suggestion gives her confidence, it will."

"I see," Hiashi said, steeping his hands. "And it did not occur to you to ask permission for this?"

The boy fidgeted nervously. "Ah… forgive me, Lord Hyuga. I thought it might be easier to convince you if you saw the results first."

Hiashi resisted sighing in exasperation. The technique was _working_ , that was the problem. Whatever foul enchantment the Uchiha had used, it had turned Hinata into a force that could almost stand up to Neji in single combat. And he desperately _needed_ Hinata to be strong. If she married within the clan, his rivals would devour her. If she married an outsider, she would no doubt be controlled by her more powerful husband. He had been all but ready to name her younger sister as heir instead, to spare her from that fate.

But Uchiha Sasuke… if the boy had been grooming her to be his puppet, Hiashi would have had him assassinated and damned be the consequences. But instead, he was making her more _independent._ More able to resist pressure and foreign influence, which was exactly what she so desperately needed.

The question was: Did the boy _know?_

He thought back once more to that fateful battle between the two genius members of their respective clans. _"You Uchiha always think you're so clever,"_ Neji had yelled, his attacks raw and unfocussed with rage. " _Everyone acts like the Uchiha were this great and noble clan because they were so afraid of them, but meanwhile everyone hated their guts! Do you think nobody noticed when your family was being slaughtered? We all heard the screams, and they were like a lullaby to us! As far as the Hyūga clan is concerned, your brother was the only noble Uchiha that ever lived!"_

Could the heir to the Uchiha clan really have forgiven that? He surely had not forgotten it.

And yet the fact was that he really _had_ put it aside, at least for the time being. The Uchiha was sparring with Neji on a regular basis now, and though he doubted there was any great love between them, there had been no reports of any incidents.

 _For the sake of revenge against his brother…_ that's what it was. For the sake of revenge that boy would put everything else aside, at least for now. And Hiashi would do the same: For as long as the Uchiha was teaching his daughter independence, he would play along. And after that… well, who knew what could happen with the passage of time. He smiled inwardly.

The Uchiha heir was waiting patiently for Hiashi to finish thinking, still sipping the last of his tea.

"You have given me much to contemplate," Hiashi said. "I will have to discuss with all interested parties, which I fear will take some time. Please consider this meeting a matter of utmost secrecy while I work behind the scenes. In the meantime, you are free to continue with your training sessions."

"Thank you, Hyūga-sama." The boy bowed politely, and after observing the bare minimum of ritual the Uchiha heir was out of the door, leaving Hiashi alone once more amongst the statues of his ancestors. He sat there for a long time, blending in with the past as he considered his family's future.

 _Uchiha Sasuke… what an interesting person._


	39. Sadness and Self-determination

**A/N:** By popular demand, here is a quick summary of the plot of NTBS so far:

Having been raised by Jiraiya of the Sannin, a much smarter Naruto sets out to discover the secrets of ninjutsu with the help of his friend Sakura. Everything changes when he discovers a letter from the Fourth Hokage, his father, who reveals that the Nine-tails' attack on Konoha was part of an elaborate scheme designed to lead to his death. Naruto finds out that he is faced with an immortal enemy who controls the darkness, and whose true identity could be anyone in the Village. The only one who might know the truth, the Nine-tails inside of him, refuses to help unless Naruto sets him loose upon the world.

Unable to trust anyone, Naruto has to investigate while keeping the truth hidden even from his own friends. However, after failing an important mission that leads to a coup in the Hidden Mist, and being signed up for a giant death tournament, it becomes increasingly clear that the system itself is broken. The Nine-tails, Kurama, reveals to Naruto that his opponent Gaara is the host to his demon brother Shukaku, who like all his other siblings has been driven mad by countless deaths and rebirths. After killing several people and threatening Naruto's friends in front of everyone, Naruto kills Gaara in a fit of rage, only to realize that he may have inadvertently started a war by killing the Kazekage's son.

As Naruto becomes increasingly frustrated by his inability to change anything, his friends slowly seem to drift away from him. Sakura gives up on being a shinobi and sets out to become a medic instead. Meanwhile Sasuke is weaving his own plots with his clan's ancient rivals, the Hyūga. How is it that Sasuke can use the same darkness technique as the Fourth's enemy, just like his murderous missing brother Itachi? And how much does he really know about what's going on?

Naruto had better find out, and soon, because time is swiftly running out...

* * *

 _*One month earlier*_

Once again, Hinata charged at her opponent. Once again, she tried desperately to make contact and strike him with her palm. Once again, she failed miserably.

She landed in the dirt, pushed aside and made to lose her balance with a flick of the wrist by her teacher. Mud splattered over her white robes as her hands slipped through the wet morning soil of the training area, and though she tried to wipe herself clean she knew she was only making things worse.

"You're still thinking too much."

She brushed aside the dirt from her sleeves, her face burning with shame. "I'm sorry, sensei."

"Apologizing for being self-conscious... That's a bit self-defeating, isn't it?"

She started to apologize again, but a pale hand lifted up her chin and forced her to look back at him. Uchiha Sasuke still looked as pristine as he had at the start of the fight, almost as if he had not been sparring with her at all. Her forehead grew even hotter with shame at the thought.

"I may have been going about this the wrong way." He was examining her thoughtfully, almost curiously, and she had to force herself not to look away. "Let me be clear: You're not doing this for me. When I say that you're thinking too much, I don't mean that you're failing me, I mean that you're failing yourself."

"I know I am, sensei." She lowered her head. She had been failing herself and her family her entire life, and it did not look like anything would ever change that. Even a genius like Uchiha Sasuke, using the power of the Sharingan and all the insight it afforded him could not fix what was wrong with her.

"No, that's not what I…" The Lord Uchiha sighed in exasperation, some of his frustration with her finally showing through. "Let me try again: I am not important. This is not about me. I exist only as a training tool to be used like everything else in this place." He gestured at the tree stumps and the wooden shuriken targets lining the forest glade all around them. "Do you think it's any different for me? Do you imagine I'm training with you out of the goodness of my heart?"

She flushed. Somehow, her face never seemed to run out of fluster. "No, sensei."

He shook his head, though a small tug on his lips almost made it seem like he was smiling wryly. "Alright, let's try a different tack." His red eyes bored into hers, and she had to force herself not to look away as the effect took hold. The forest glade seemed to shift around her, though when she looked again the trees and the training equipment were all still there. Only her Byakugan confirmed the presence of the Uchiha's chakra within her head as she used its omnidirectional vision to examine herself.

She looked just as muddy and miserable as she had imagined.

"I'm using a full-immersion genjutsu based on sensory input from your physical surroundings," Sasuke explained. "It'll stop your meddlesome clan elders from spying on us if nothing else. Try not to flare your chakra or you'll dispel it by accident."

She instinctively reached out with her chakra even as she told herself not to. There was a faint shimmer in the air as she forced her chakra back under control, though Sasuke did not seem to notice.

"I'm thinking I might just not be the right teacher for you," he continued. "I'm not really very good at the whole 'being nice' bit." His crimson eyes seemed to spin inside their own sockets, though that surely had to be part of the illusion. "This is going to be annoying, but it doesn't seem I have much of a choice."

There was a faint shimmer in the air next to him, and then a blond boy wearing an orange jumpsuit appeared next to him as if by teleportation. The boy blinked, his bright blue eyes wide with surprise.

"What the heck? How did I get here?"

"Naruto-kun?" Hinata had to check with her Byakugan to confirm that it really was just an illusion and Sasuke had not actually summoned his teammate into the glade. She had once read a story (the kind her father strongly disapproved of) about ninjas who became able to summon each other once their love grew strong enough, but she did not even want to think about that in this context. "But, how?"

Naruto turned and thrust an angry finger at Sasuke. "You! I knew you were behind this somehow, you jerk! How dare you make a fully-sentient simulation of me against my will, you bastard!"

Sasuke plugged his ear with one finger as if to block Naruto out, even though that made no sense in this context. "I figured Naruto might be better able to motivate you since the two of you got along so well at the academy," he said. "It's only an illusion, but he keeps saying stuff like that without being prompted and it's really quite unnerving."

Hinata blinked long and hard, though of course the image did not change. "Sensei, you made a perfect illusion of your teammate inside your head? But, why?"

"Oh, he's not perfect: The real one is far more annoying. Still, he'll do for now." He motioned his head towards Naruto. "Hey dropout, the lady needs training. Come on, hop to it."

The illusion crossed its arms. "I refuse! I stubbornly refuse to follow your perfectly sensible suggestion even though it's exactly what I would have done anyway. But since I know that's what you would _expect_ me to say I'll instead do the exact opposite of what I just said purely out of spite. So there!"

"See," said Sasuke, "that whole process would have taken a lot longer with the real Naruto. I think I keep making him too self-aware by accident because he has access to my brain instead of the noodle-fuelled mush inside of his own skull."

The fake Naruto ignored him as he walked over to Hinata while she stood there frozen, too overtaken by the surreality of the moment to even flinch at his approach. A part of her was convinced that this Naruto _must_ be real, because the alternative that the stoic Lord Uchiha was doing all of this was too bizarre to even consider.

"Never mind that jerk, Hinata-chan. I'm gonna make you the most awesomest shinobi that's ever been, just you watch!" He pulled out a shuriken and handed it to her, positioning his body against hers just like he had done back then. Her head was too busy bursting into flame to even think about how this meant that Sasuke must have been watching her back then. "Try hitting the nearest target," said Naruto. "I know you can do it!"

Numbly, Hinata flicked out her wrist and struck the target before her dead in the centre. There was a loud crack as the wood split apart with the force of the blow, and the bottom half fell down into the dirt.

"But that's only an illusion," Hinata said, barely audible over the sound of Naruto's whooping cheers.

"All the more impressive that you hit it then," said Naruto. "Bet you can't hit two at the same time!"

"It might have been an illusion just now," said Sasuke, "but you really did hit the target back then. Do you remember? When Naruto distracted you, when you were thinking about something other than your failures for once, when you had the proper _motivation_ … you split the target clean in two."

Hinata flicked her wrist again, this time hitting both targets at once. Somehow it felt good to see herself succeed like that, even if was all just a lie. "I ran away back then," she said numbly. She had treated Naruto so ungratefully, even after all he had done for her. "Just like always." He had been making jokes about her mother. How was he supposed to have known?

Three more shuriken found their marks, and Naruto burst into cheers as he flung his arms around her. Her forehead still burned like a red hot poker, but the sensation no longer felt so terrible. _Even if it is for just a moment, even if it is all just a lie…_

Sasuke shrugged. "Like I said, there's no sense in overthinking things. Real or not, an illusion is just a tool like any other." He dispelled the genjutsu, and Naruto faded into nothingness. Hinata watched him vanish with a strange sense of sadness. The real one would have protested more, she thought.

"And besides," said Sasuke as he began to retrieve the shuriken from their targets, "just because something is an illusion doesn't mean it isn't real."

* * *

 _*Current time*_

Naruto wandered the streets of Konoha aimlessly. He had been practicing his Poor Man's Flying Thunder God technique, and brainstorming with his fellow clones to invent new improvements and variations. When he got tired of that he had pulled out his father's scroll and pored over the contents once more, trying to see if he could find some clue to his mysterious attacker now that the Hokage tower had been destroyed and rumours about Akatsuki had surfaced. In the end, he had been forced to almost physically throw himself out of the door to get some fresh air and restore his wounded sanity.

(He had assigned a clone towards exactly that one purpose, and he seemed to enjoy the job immensely.)

 _I guess shadow clones just can't replace real human interaction_ , he mulled as he dragged his sandaled feet across the cobblestones. Even the best clones only ever lasted until the caster fell asleep or ran out of chakra, which was not long enough for them to develop distinct personalities. Probably for the best, all things considered. However, it did mean that he always felt as though he were talking to himself.

As awe inspiring and frightening as it had felt to look at a perfect copy of himself for the first time, the fact was that Naruto had gotten used to his clones to the point where he scarcely even noticed them anymore. Well, except for when he ran into one of his disguised clones in the Village while they were running errands for him. That never stopped being creepy.

Well, that and suddenly dying from one of his experiments only to reappear elsewhere without warning. That was always disorientating.

Well, that and constantly having to pinch himself to reaffirm that he was the real one – or rather, to confirm to himself that there really was such a _thing_ as the real him, that he was not part of some sort of swarm collective or that the concept of realness itself had not ceased to hold any meaning.

Okay, so there was really no such thing as getting used to shadow clones.

"…who I am now. Why can't you accept that?"

Naruto perked up at the sound of familiar voices. He would have given anything to talk to a fellow sentient at this point, even if it was Uchiha Sasuke – no, purge that thought, he would have to convert this body into explosion-release chakra to prevent it from infecting the others. No wait, he was the real one, wasn't he? Maybe he could get Kurama to devour the offending memory for him instead.

"Because this isn't the real you!" That was Kiba's voice; there was no mistaking that rough dog-like bark. "It doesn't matter to us if our missions go a bit slower, Hinata-chan. We like you just the way you are."

Naruto peered over the fence which separated the outside section of the Yakiniku Q from the bustling street. Naruto recognized it as the favourite open grill restaurant of Chōji and his team, though aside from Ino he did not see any of them there. Kiba, Shino and Hinata were there instead, which made him think there might be some kind of group celebration going on for Shino's promotion. Naruto suppressed a twinge of resentment at being left out, for all that he barely knew the strange insect-wielding ninja.

"Well, what if I don't like the way I am?" Hinata was staring down the much larger boy seated opposite her with uncharacteristic defiance. "Don't I get a say in things?"

"You do, but you're not thinking straight right now. You're letting that bastard muck with your head, and it just isn't healthy!"

"Hey guys," Naruto said. "Who's mucking with the what now?"

Ino manoeuvred her hands in some kind of complicated warding gesture. "Oh uh, hi there Naruto. I'm not sure this is the best possible time right now…"

"No, this is perfect," Kiba said, turning in his seat at the table to face Naruto. "She listens to you, right? Tell her she's being stupid to let that condescending prick mess with her like that."

Naruto blinked. "Someone is messing with Hinata?"

"Sasuke-kun has been using genjutsu to help Hinata become more confident," Ino explained. "We're just worried that it's been affecting her personality, that's all. You know how dominant he can be sometimes."

"That's not fair," Hinata protested, more meekly than before. "He's not manipulating me; he's just helping to make me stronger. I mean, he _is_ manipulating me, but only because I asked him to…"

Shino adjusted his tinted glasses, which together with his hooded coat left his expression unreadable as always. "Metamorphosis is sometimes necessary for the good of the whole. However, do we require another queen at this time or is it better to support the hive as a drone? That is the question."

This pronouncement was met with a moment of silence.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Kiba stabbed an accusing finger at Shino. "How is calling Hinata a drone supposed to help any? Man, Shino, sometimes I feel like I don't get you at all."

Ino made a calming gesture. "I think that what Shino is saying is that it's okay to be a follower rather than a leader. Hinata, it's perfectly fine to be the way you are, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"Wait," said Naruto, who was still digesting this new information. "You're telling me that Hinata has been letting Sasuke use his Sharingan to change her personality? _Uchiha Sasuke?_ As in, the guy who made Hyūga Neji go into a berserker rage just by talking to him for a few minutes?" He directed an incredulous stare at Hinata, who seemed to shrink away under his gaze. "Have you gone _completely mad?"_

Hinata opened her mouth to reply, but no sound came out. She tore her gaze away from Naruto, but all around her the others were looking at her the same way, and all of a sudden tears sprang into her eyes. She jumped up and ran towards the exit, dashing through the streets with no apparent destination.

Ino fell back in her chair and groaned loudly. "Sage's orbs, Naruto, do you think you could have handled that any worse? You seriously still don't know what she's like after all this time?"

"That's not," Naruto stammered, "I didn't mean to…"

"Thanks a lot, Naruto," Kiba growled. "Now I'm gonna have to go after her and patch things up again."

"Wait," said Ino. A thought seemed to form in her head. "I think it might be better if Naruto went."

"Me? But…" Naruto paused as Kiba glared at him as if to dare him to try and weasel out of it, but it was Ino's finger making a subtle cutting motion across her neck that managed to persuade him. "Right."

He turned and ran after the disappearing form of Hinata, dashing past the confused onlookers who watched what appeared to be the Hyūga heiress running away in a panic while a clanless ninja chased her. Naruto did not care. If the Hyūga clan came after him later, he would deal with it then.

He followed her all the way to the red academy building, and there the trail ended. For a moment he thought he had lost her, but then he noticed a lonely figure sitting on the academy grounds' only swing. He approached warily, not wanting to spook her, like he was trying to catch a lost cat. In truth, with her black locks hanging in front of her eyes like that, she looked like a particularly wet and miserable one.

There was no only else in the tiny playground. It was nearing sunset, and all the academy students had left to eat dinner with their families or to continue their studies elsewhere. He had always dreaded that moment for fear that he would find an empty apartment upon his return, but he realized for the first time in his life that it might not have been so different for her, for all that she had the opposite problem.

"I ran away again," she whispered. "I really thought I managed to change a little, this time."

"Me too," said Naruto. He sat down on the cool soil next to her, not caring if the dirt stained his new chūnin jacket. "I guess it wouldn't really be us if we didn't stay at least a little bit stupid."

That managed to make her laugh a little, though there was a sad twinge to it. "You know," she said, "you really are much better at this than the other one."

"The other one?" Naruto looked at her in confusion. "Do you mean Sasuke?"

Her lips quirked into a sly little smile. "Come to think of it, I never did thank you, did I? Even though you're the one who saved me, all this time…"

"I did?" Naruto picked up a clump of dirt and let it crumble between his fingers. "I don't really feel like I've done anything for you. Everything I said to you only ever turned out wrong." Though if he had not faced Gaara in the hospital when he did, she really might have died. Perhaps that was what she meant?

They gazed out over the training field in front of them, which loomed so much larger than the tiny playground they were in. Their one swing had probably been put there by Iruka-sensei, he reflected. He dimly wondered how his old classroom teacher was doing. He had seemed quite upbeat despite having been crippled because of Naruto, but perhaps that had just been an act. You never could tell with ninjas.

She motioned towards the used and worn-out training targets. "Do you remember when you taught me how to throw shuriken? It feels like yesterday to me, but now I can't be sure if it ever really happened at all…"

"I remember," he said, feeling as if he was missing half of a rather important conversation. "I didn't really teach you anything though. All I did was distract you long enough to make you forget that you're supposed to be bad at it."

"And that's what the others could never do. My father, my teachers, even my friends. All they could do was point out what I was doing badly. Even now, all they can say is that I should stay the same. Don't change, don't hate your own weakness, don't feel like you have to listen to anyone who is not them…"

"They're just worried about you," Naruto said. "They don't mean badly."

"They're worried about the _old_ me," she said. "They liked that shy little girl who wasn't threatening to anyone. They liked having someone around who made them feel better about themselves, someone who they could protect and care for and who they could be sure would never, ever change."

"Those are Sasuke's words," Naruto said. "Not yours."

"That doesn't make them any less true." She gathered up the long strands of black hair that had fallen in front of her eyes and brushed them back in place. The expression in her pale white eyes had changed, and she suddenly looked very regal indeed. "The truth is what I needed, no matter how much it hurt. I needed someone who would make me stronger, so I would never have to hate myself, ever again."

 _"_ _But Sasuke,"_ Naruto said despairingly. "Why Uchiha Sasuke of all people? Hinata-chan, he is not a good person! All he cares about is his revenge, and he'll do anything and sacrifice anyone to get it. Can't you see that he's using you?"

"I know," she said. "But that's precisely why it has to be him: With anyone else I'd have to worry what they really thought about me. I'd have to wonder if they really thought I could be helped, or if they were just playing along out of pity. But Sasuke would not be training me if he thought I could not be taught, and so it _must_ be true. Reality is the one thing that doesn't go away when you stop believing in it."

Naruto ground his teeth in frustration. When it came to Sasuke, everyone always acted like he was mad to mistrust him – as if the only reason he was wary of his teammate was because he was jealous of him, and not because Sasuke had all but tortured him the very first time they fought. Hinata had been the only one back then who not been taken in by him, but now it seemed that he had lost her to him too.

And if Naruto called him out on it, well, Sasuke would probably just convince him too.

 _Bastard..._

Hinata smiled sadly, almost as if she could tell what he was thinking. "Even if he isn't a good person, his Sharingan is the one thing that could actually give me what I always wanted. It's just like you said in your match against Rock Lee: Hard work and dedication simply isn't enough to overcome every obstacle."

Once more, those fateful words came back to him, ingrained as they were deep within his memory. _"Not fair? We're ninja, nothing we do is fair! You wanted to know if hard work and determination could overcome any obstacle, right? Well as you can see, it can't, and denying it will just get people killed!"_

 _"_ _No," cried Lee. "I reject it! As long as I do not accept defeat, nothing is impossible. That is what Gai-sensei taught me – that is what I have always believed! I reject it…"_

Naruto clenched his fists as if he could stop the world from slipping through his fingers if he just squeezed hard enough. "I only said that stuff to him because I wanted to provoke him into attacking me," he said, begging her to understand. "I would never say something like that to you!"

"No, of course not," she said. "But that doesn't mean you weren't thinking it. Or can you honestly tell me that you never thought I lacked what it takes to be a ninja and that it would be better if I just quit?"

Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came out. Unbidden, all of his memories of him thinking exactly that returned to him. During the chūnin exams, in the hospital – he had even said so to Mizuki-sensei right here at the very training ground where they had practiced shuriken together: _"Why does Hinata have to be here? She shouldn't even be a ninja! Even if I haven't talked to her much, it's obvious just from looking at her that she doesn't have any killing intent at all. She doesn't want to fight or throw shuriken or learn to kill people, so why, why on earth is she even here in the first place?"_

He would have taken it all back if he only could.

"I thought so," she said, still wearing that same wistful little smile which hurt so much to see. It reminded him of Haku, he belatedly realized. "You never pitied me enough to lie to me, Naruto-kun, and for that I am truly grateful." She leaned towards Naruto and kissed him on the cheek, and he was caught so off-guard by it that he never even thought to deny what she had said. "Thank you for everything."

There was a faint rustling of wind, and when Naruto looked again Hinata was gone. Only the slight swaying of the empty wooden swing remained to prove that anyone had been there at all. That, and the hollow feeling in Naruto's heart, which spoke of all the things that could have been, would have been and should have been, but which never were and never would be.


	40. Discipline and Disillusionment

Sakura was, of course, the first to arrive in the classroom.

The room itself was remarkably unremarkable. It was much like any other classroom, for all that she was currently in a restricted wing of the hospital controlled entirely by Tsunade of the Sannin. Rumour had it that the legendary medic never actually left the hospital except to go out on her wild nights of drunken gambling and debauchery, but Sakura was not sure how much of that she really believed.

After a moment's hesitation she sat down in the centre of the front row and began sorting through her inventory. Pencil and parchment quickly found their way onto her desk, as well as scrolls with introductory coursework that she had already read a hundred times over. It was strange how after spending nearly a year in the field, she still felt that same fear of being caught unprepared for an unannounced test the moment she sat down at a desk.

Slowly, students began to trickle into the room, but none of them paid her any heed. She should probably have tried to strike up a conversation with one of them, but they were all older chūnin and spending a year in a team with Naruto and Sasuke had not done much to make her more sociable. She stared at her notes some more, feeling an odd sense of shame at her reluctance.

"Hey, if it isn't everyone's favourite forehead girl! Look everyone, it's Sakura of the Haruno clan!"

Sakura's papers crumpled between her fingers as a pair of slender arms draped themselves around her neck. "Ino. What are you doing here?"

"Entering medical school alongside you, of course." The arms retreated from Sakura's neck, and there was the sound of a chair scraping as Ino sat down next to her. _"Somebody_ has to stop you from becoming a total recluse. Besides, it'll be fun!"

"Ino, application to a medical apprenticeship is limited to chūnin only. You didn't even make it past the second round."

"Oh, but I am a chūnin," Ino said with a wide grin. She tossed back her blond locks to display a new pair of silver earrings that matched her flowing white dress. "Asuma-sensei gave us these on graduation. They're not as pretty as the ones I already had of course, but still pretty nice, don't you think? Turns out, the proctors were entirely susceptible to our argument that support ninjas cannot reasonably be expected to show off our talents in a 1-on-1 tournament, so we did a separate examination on the side. Shika aced it of course, and you could hardly separate the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio, so…"

"Ino, _I_ am a support ninja! I had to fight my own teammate to get this promotion. Some of us nearly died!"

Ino looked at her with wide, innocent blue eyes. "Oh Sakura, I had no idea you were struggling so much. If you needed a handout from me, you only had to _ask."_

Sakura was interrupted from trying to strangle Ino in full view of the entire class by the sudden arrival of the teacher, which she rather strongly suspected was not a coincidence given Ino's sensing ability.

"My name is Katō Shizune," the teacher said as she took up position in front of the class. She looked rather unassuming, with black hair and eyes and an equally dark kimono with white trimmings. "I am Lady Tsunade's personal assistant and apprentice, and I will be guiding you through this program. I will do my best to answer any questions you have in the short time we have until the end of this session."

 _Don't be fooled,_ Ino thought in Sakura's head. _That's the niece of the late Katō Dan, who was renowned as the Ghost of Konoha. Bet you ten ryō that she's actually ridiculously strong._

 _Be quiet,_ Sakura thought back. _I told you Ino, I can't tell your thoughts from my own. It's really distracting._

"Lady Tsunade can usually be found within her own ward, where she conducts crucial research and medical experiments in service to the Leaf. You are not to disturb her for any reason unless I give you _explicit_ permission. In case of any problems, you are to come to me first. I hope that's understood."

 _Ooh, check it out. Major hottie at nine o'clock._

Sakura glanced to the left despite herself. It took her a second to place the bespectacled older boy sitting next to her: It was that information card shark, Kabuto, who Naruto had been so suspicious of during the exams. Not that Naruto was ever not suspicious of anyone who was better looking than him, but still. In this case she thought she could see where he was coming from. There was something about that confident, winsome smile that seemed just a little too slick. _I'd probably still do him, though – damn it, Ino!_

 _What? That wasn't my thought. That was your thought. You thought that._

 _I most certainly did not!_

"The initial focus of your training shall be on mastering the Mystical Palm technique. This technique works by carefully injecting medical chakra into the target's cells to stimulate their natural healing process. We shinobi are immune to most civilian maladies because of our unusually strong chakra, and this technique serves to amplify that effect. However, it will do nothing to heal injuries that one could not naturally recover from. Furthermore, improper usage of the Mystical Palm technique can result in uncontrolled cellular division at the local area, inflicting ravenous cancer if not worse."

 _Listen Sakura, I just want you to know that if you need any help coming to terms with your sexuality, I'm here for you._

 _Damn it Ino, don't think I won't strangle you to death inside my mind!_

"You are not, under any circumstance, to attempt a medical technique on a human target without having acquired sufficient mastery first. Later in the program, you will be learning the Chakra Scalpel technique, which can help to… Miss Yamanaka, are you really going to make me do this?"

"Nope," said Ino, smiling beatifically. "I don't know what 'this' is, but it will certainly not be necessary!"

"I'm very glad to hear that," said Shizune-sensei. She glanced at her schedule with a weary expression. "I think that covers most of the standard introduction, anyway. You are expected to study the remainder of the safety instructions in your own time – I guarantee that you will be tested on this, as well as on everything else. The remainder of the day shall be spent on studying the underlying principles of medical practice as well as the basic rules governing the behaviour of medical ninjas in combat areas. You are dismissed."

"Great," said Ino, looking at her own timetable. "Looks like we have a five minute break until our next class. I know who I'll be sitting next to!" She hopped over to the seat on Sakura's left and nestled up next to Kabuto. "Hey handsome. You ever wonder what it's like to hear the voice of an angel inside your head?"

Sakura groaned. This was looking to be a very, very long year.

* * *

Sakura smiled in satisfaction at the flopping fish on her desk. It had been touch and go for a second there, for the wounds that had been inflicted on their 'patients' had been getting deeper and more complex with each iteration, but in the end she had managed to restore the site of the injury without affecting any of the surrounding organs. This had been made all the more difficult by the fact that fish could not, in fact, breathe, and so had to be continuously fed oxygen throughout the entire process.

Sakura felt a familiar presence lurking at the edge of her mind, but she flared her chakra before it could take hold.

"No fair," complained Ino, whose dead fish was staring at her with a single accusing eye. "I just wanted to know what trick you're using. You shouldn't hold out on your friends, you know." She pouted at her.

"No trick," Sakura said, smiling. "Unless of course, you count patience, hard work and actually paying attention in class as a 'trick'. Well, I suppose those things _would_ be pretty tricky for you, so…"

The two were interrupted in their bickering when the teacher approached Sakura's desk, looking genuinely impressed. "I have never seen anyone master the Mystical Palm technique so quickly," she marvelled. "I don't suppose you've received any prior training, have you?"

"Kakashi-sensei taught me the basics," Sakura admitted, blushing. "I used it on my teammates once, but I don't think I did a very good job."

"If they didn't die you did a better job than most," said Shizune. She did not seem to notice Sakura's reflexive flinch. "Getting early practice in is nothing to be ashamed of. The key to being a great medical ninja is hard work and focus, and I'd say you already show great potential."

Sakura smiled brightly, more from the invectives that Ino was thinking at her than the compliment itself.

The teacher seemed to think something over, for she was quiet for several seconds. "Your name is Haruno Sakura, isn't it? Could I speak to you in private?"

"Of course," said Sakura, already getting up. "I'd be more than happy to." Though not nearly as happy as Ino resentful thoughts were making her. She pictured herself sticking her tongue out at Ino as she nearly skipped after her teacher.

A short walk later saw them in Shizune-sensei's office, who closed the door to the office behind them. "It's about Lady Tsunade," she started. "I've been stretched thin lately with my responsibilities as a doctor and teacher, and I fear I've been neglecting my duties to her as her personal assistant."

Sakura's eyes widened. "You want me to assist Tsunade of the Sannin?"

"You wouldn't have to do much," Shizune said hastily. "Just help me deliver some items to her now and then, and promise not to tell anyone about the, ah, circumstances around the delivery." She sat down in her office chair, deep bags appearing underneath her eyes as she released the transformation technique that she must have been maintaining the whole time. "There used to be others assistants, but I fear Lady Tsunade can be somewhat… difficult to work for. I need someone who I can trust to be discrete."

"Of course," Sakura said reflexively. "I'll help however I can."

"You will?" Shizune's eyes seemed to regain some of their energy. "Oh thank you, Sakura, that's such a relief." She retrieved a sealing scroll from a drawer and handed it to Sakura. "All you have to do is go to her office and leave this at her desk. She probably won't be in, so just make sure nobody sees it or takes it from you."

"Of course," Sakura said again. She doubted the scroll could really be all that secret if she was allowed to just leave it in an empty room, so it was probably just a personal matter. Come to think of it, she was rather surprised that there were no seals in Tsunade's office to keep her out in the first place. "Shizune-sensei," she said after a moment's hesitation, "could I ask you about something unrelated?"

"Go ahead," she said. "The walls here are sealed – you can ask anything you like."

"About your abilities – I heard a rumour that you're able to use the Poisoned Wind technique. I was wondering… is it by any chance true that you're also able to imbue your weapons with this technique so that they can release a cloud of poison when desired?"

"What?" She blinked. "Where did you… No, I suppose there's no point in denying it if I'm already trusting you with Lady Tsunade." She rubbed her temple with her fingers. "I must be getting careless. Please don't tell anyone else about that: A shinobi's life is measured by their secrets, as they say. When you run out, you die."

"Of course," said Sakura, her heart pounding. _Naruto was right. He was right all along._

As she left the room and headed for Tsunade's office, she did her best to recall his exact words: " _Dividing techniques into just five elements always seemed really arbitrary… I figured the way it really works is you have one jutsu for controlling fire, one for creating shadow clones and one to make poison clouds and so on, and all those different 'techniques' for making bigger or smaller attacks are just variations of the same basic thing."_

What did that imply? When Naruto claimed to have created 'light release' as well as 'explosion release' during the chūnin exams it had struck her as simple bluster. Combining a flash-seal on your palm with an academy-level technique to bend light around your body was a mere trick _._ An ingenious trick, yes, but it was not the same as learning a _real_ technique. Even when she watched him fight in that arena against Gaara, it had seemed to her that he was merely using cleverness to compete with the Sand ninja's true power.

But if Naruto was right then there was no difference. The two were exactly the same thing: Shizune sensei had mastered poison-release without even realizing it, imagining instead that she had simply learned a number of poison-related techniques. That meant that she could use it like any other elemental nature, even combine the technique with shadow clones to get poison-clones if she wanted to, and that meant that… everything Sakura had been taught at the academy was a lie. Techniques were not distinct. Abilities were not unique. It was all a lie spread by the strongest ninjas in the world, the ones who _did_ understand and who were desperate to keep that knowledge to themselves.

The thought occurred to her that you could not possibly keep such a thing secret forever, no matter how powerful you were or how eager to assassinate anyone who defected from that unspoken agreement. But what you _could_ do was to spread so many lies and misinformation that nobody trusted anything anymore. Create a deliberate culture of paranoia so that anything more complicated than the most simplistic model of reality would be mistrusted, weakening your own country just to hold on to power…

 _How much of it? How much of what I thought I knew has been a lie? How big a fool have I really been?_

She arrived at a pastel green door with Tsunade's name on it, barely having registered the indistinguishable white corridors that had let her to this point. She knocked tepidly on the wood, and did it again more loudly when she received no answer. A light push caused the door to creak open.

 _This can't really be the office of one of the legendary Sannin, can it?_

She peered inside, but could see little in the darkness. She tried to ignite the gas lamp on the ceiling, but aside from some clicking sounds the mechanism produced no effect. _This room must still be under maintenance,_ she decided. _No wonder there are no seals in place to keep me out._

As she entered further into the room the sharp smell of alcohol invaded her nostrils, and as her eyes adjusted to the lack of light she realized that the entire room was stained and littered with broken glass: Old medical bottles that had been broken and left there by careless workmen, no doubt.

The door slammed shut behind her, and Sakura jumped inside her skin. She turned around to find a wiry old woman lying on the floor in a corner of the room, her leg still extended from where she had kicked shut the door. There was a bottle in her hand; one of the few ones in that room that was not yet broken.

"Oh, I'm very sorry," Sakura said hastily. "I did not see you there, obasama. I have a scroll with me for lady Tsunade. I don't suppose you would know where she is right now?"

The old woman stared at her for a long moment, and then held up an open, greasy palm.

"I suppose you're offering to give it to her when you next see her," said Sakura. "That's very kind of you, but I was told to give it to her personally. So I shall just take it with me and return later, shall I?"

The old woman raised a single eyebrow. Sakura stared back at her, defiantly.

"I am Tsunade," the woman said at last.

"Right," said Sakura. "Of course you are. I knew that. No really, I did. I just thought it would be good to have some confirmation before I accidentally embarrassed myself by confusing you with your crazy old aunt or something." She held out the parchment, which Tsunade instantly snatched from her hands.

The woman unrolled the scroll and began touching each of the seals inscribed on it. Plates and bowls laden with food began to pop into existence and were immediately tossed aside. There was plain fare in there like rice balls and a steaming bowl of Miso soup that Sakura only barely managed to catch in time, but there were also far more exquisite delicacies such as Sashimi and an endless variety of grilled vegetables and fried dumplings that could have fed Sakura's family for days.

At last the torrent of dishes came to a halt, and the old woman shook the scroll above her head in frustration. "Is that it? Where's the booze?"

"If you mean alcohol," Sakura said archly, "I think you've had enough." She set aside the soup and picked up the bottle which Tsunade had been holding. She stared at the label in horror: It really was rubbing alcohol, as she had feared. "Have you been drinking this? Lady Tsunade, that's mad – you'll go blind!"

She sniffed. "Wouldn't _need_ to drink it if useless bloody Shizune would just do her useless bloody job." She tossed the empty scroll at Sakura, which she did not even bother to dodge as it merely fluttered to the ground at her feet. "'sides, it's not like I can't just heal it. I'm the world's greatest medic, you know." A crooked smile appeared on her lips. "Watch, I'll show you a neat trick." She retrieved a kunai from her green haori, and before Sakura could say or do anything she had stabbed herself in her own eye.

 _"_ _Seventh Path!"_ Sakura's hands flew to her mouth in horror. _"Are you insane?"_

"No, no, is fine," she mumbled. "Watch." She touched the diamond shaped mark on her forehead with a finger, and all of a sudden purple lines began spreading out across her skin. Wherever the lines touched her body seemed to be invigorated, and one by one the signs of age began to vanish. The bags beneath her eyes disappeared as her loose skin grew taut, and even though mucus bubbled up from the wound in her eye Sakura could see that the gap itself was closing. By the time the purple lines retreated, an athletic young woman stood before her, with luxurious blond pigtails and a truly voluptuous pair of breasts.

"That," said Sakura, "that's impossible."

"Not impossible," Tsunade said, smiling crookedly. "Just very, very hard – unless you're the world's greatest medical genius, that is." She scanned around the room, and her eyes suddenly widened in horrified realization. "Oh Sage! I think I've gone and accidentally made myself sober."

"You used your Creation Rebirth technique," Sakura said slowly, still coming to terms with what she had just witnessed. She would have found it hard to believe she was even still talking to the same old woman if not for the cold and jaded look that had remained in the Sannin's eyes. "But, your yin seal – you must have spent ages charging it with chakra, and now you've used up so much!"

"Pfff, that bloody thing? What else am I going to use it for? It's not like I'm a ninja anymore." Tsunade stood up with youthful vigour and began to rummage through the medical equipment displayed on the shelves and cabinets all around her. "Blast it, there has to be _something_ here which I can use to distil alcohol. Is this a place of science and progress or not?"

Sakura stared at her former idol in amazement. At least she had stopped drinking medical ethanol, she supposed. "What do you mean you're not a ninja anymore? I mean, sure, you don't fight on the frontlines, but you're still a legendary shinobi. You heal the ninjas who fight for Konoha, and that's basically the same thing…"

Tsunade spun on her. "The hell it is! I take no responsibility for anyone I may or may not have healed. I spent a decade convincing the council that creating a medical corps was worth it, and look how they treat me. You can all fall on your swords for all I care." She grabbed a green bottle from a shelf and looked at it in distaste. "Embalming fluid? No, that won't work…"

Sakura placed her hands on her hips. "Why can't you just buy your own alcohol? It's not like you're too embarrassed to be seen outside."

"Because that bloody thief stole all of my money!" Tsunade slammed the bottle onto her desk, causing a crack to appear in the bottom and leaving a rather significant dent in the wood beneath it. "She put me _under curatorship_ , like I'm some senile old woman who can't take a shit without a full medical team to support. And she won't even use it to buy me anything good!"

"She? You mean Shizune-sensei?" Sakura frowned. "It sounds to me like she's protecting you from yourself, which is exactly what a true friend should do. You're very lucky to have someone like her, Tsunade-sama."

"She's moral fucking busybody is what she is." She yanked open a window to let in more light, glaring only briefly against the afternoon sun before giving up on the staring contest. "She took all my money, and where is it now? Who knows! But I'll bet she has herself a nice new house by now."

Bile was rising up in Sakura's throat, too much even for her prodigal allowance to contain. "Don't talk about Shizune-sensei like that! Can't you see how much she cares for you? She is running the whole hospital in your name while you're wasting away, even covering for you so people won't realize the state you're in…"

"I never asked her to do any of that," Tsunade muttered. "She's just a little puppy that keeps following me around because she's too dumb to realize why she keeps getting kicked." She held up a vial of pale liquid, examining it against the sun. "Distillation is just a matter of concentrating the alcohol level, isn't it? So if I were to run a lightning-style current through this, and then separated the vapours…"

"Tsunade-sama, don't. You're going to get yourself killed."

She snorted. "You even _sound_ like her, now."

"Well, good. Somebody ought to be here to tell you the truth." She glared at the buxom blond woman in front of her. "You know, I used to idolize you when I was younger. Tsunade of the Sannin, one of the three heroic students of the Third Hokage who went around saving the world…"

She burst out laughing. "Heroic – oh, that's a laugh! Really, is that what they tell you at the academy?"

"I know the team fell apart after Orochimaru turned evil," Sakura protested. "But that doesn't change all the good things you did before that. One of my teammates was raised by your friend Jiraiya, and he's still as much of a hero as ever." Though even as she said that, she recalled her own words to Naruto: _"Well then he is just as mad as you are! This whole world is insane, and you're the worst of them all!"_

"Jiraiya! A hero!" She laughed again. "It sounds like he's starting to believe his own useless stories. Do you wanna know what his 'top secret S-ranked missions' really are about?" She leaned towards Sakura with a conspiratorial look in her eyes. "Retrieving me. Retrieving a crucial Village asset! That's what they call it." She turned and hurled the vial out the window. "Every time I manage to sneak out to get decently drunk off my rocker – you know, play some games and just forget about my troubles for a while – they send him after me. And each time I run away a little bit farther, and each time I think to myself that this time he won't find me. This time I'll be free. And then I look up, and there he is, already waving a drawing of some poor half-dead orphan boy in my face."

There was a dangerous expression on her face as she imitated his voice: "Oh Tsunade, you're the only one who can save him! Why don't you come back, just for a little while? His parents would be ever so grateful, and have I mentioned how the kid kind of looks like your _dead fucking baby brother._ "

Sakura looked at her with renewed horror. "He uses your dead brother to make you come back?"

"Not just him!" Tsunade seemed to be working herself into a proper fury now. "My husband, too! The person I was going to marry, the only man who shared my dream of founding a medical corps. But Jiraiya just goes, _oh Tsunade, he wanted to be Hokage so badly, don't you want to honour his memory?"_

Sakura felt sick to her stomach. "That's awful. He shouldn't use their memories against you like that. That's just wrong."

"Oh, but it's all for the greater good of Konoha," Tsunade said with a twisted smile. "But wait, it gets better: When he brings me back, he gets paid for it! He gets paid a small fortune for his troubles, and I get a line of bodies shoved under my face and I'm told to go fix them. After a while, I can't even remember which ones I saved and which ones I didn't." She collapsed into her chair, the anger seeming to have drained out of her. "And I don't even get to have a fucking drink."

Sakura fell silent, finally at a loss for what to say. For a moment she had almost thought herself like Naruto, screaming all her anger and resentment at the nearest authority figure she could find. But this… this felt almost familiar. It was just like that time when Kakashi-sensei had first shown her the Mystical Palm technique, and through his stories of the past revealed himself to be just another mortal man.

This time, she did ask the question she had meant to ask back then. "How did they die?"

Tsunade glanced up at her, looking too drained to be angry at the directness of the question. "My little brother, Nawaki, died storming off into battle the first chance he had. They had filled his head with stories of heroism and I, fool that I was, thought his wide-eyed idealism too cute to teach him better." Her eyes narrowed, and some of her earlier rage seemed to return to her. "Dan, though…" Her hands gripped the edge of her desk, and the wood began to splinter under her grip. "Dan was known as the ghost of Konoha because of his spirit transformation technique, which allowed him to project his spirit and even possess the bodies of his enemies. Orochimaru wanted that technique. He had _always_ wanted that technique, but Dan refused him every time. And then one day he just… disappeared."

"You think Orochimaru killed him?"

"I _know_ Orochimaru killed him!" The desk groaned dangerously under her assault, and she forcibly pulled her hands away before it shattered into pieces. "He even took the First Hokage's sealing crystal that I inherited and which I had given to Dan as a token of our engagement." There was a dangerous glint in her eyes as she looked at Sakura. "As the Sage is my witness, or by whatever thing of value there is left in this world for a ninja to swear on, I will wrap my hands around that snake's neck and _squeeze._ "

Sakura took a deep breath. All of this was becoming rather heavier than she had intended. "Well," she said lightly, "if you do ever fight him, it sounds like you could use some help from your friends. So I hope that if that does happen, you'll wait for us all to fight together rather than just running off in a drunken fury."

Tsunade stared at her for a long second, and then she burst out laughing. "Friends? I don't even know your name."

"I was thinking more of Shizune-sensei," said Sakura. "But my name is Haruno Sakura, lady Tsunade."

"Haruno Sakura," she said, a smile appearing on her lips. "All right, Haruno. Next time you come here, remember to bring something to drink and I just might come to tolerate you." For a moment her expression seemed to soften, but then her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, I've got it! If I can regenerate from _being_ drunk, then I can also regenerate my cells into an already drunken state. How come I never thought of that before? This solves all of my problems!"

Sakura groaned. It was looking to be a very long year indeed.


	41. Resentment and Reductionism

Naruto waited patiently by the Naka river bridge for the others to show up – or rather, patiently for his standards, meaning that he was doing his best not to fidget and shuffle around too visibly in order to avoid attracting unwanted attention. He had very purposefully not asked anyone, but he knew perfectly well that what he was about to do had the potential to make him all kinds of powerful enemies.

But then, nothing of importance had ever been done without that being the case. It had certainly never stopped his father from trying to change Konoha for the better. Well, not for a few years at least.

 _And isn't that a reassuring thought…_

He was shaken from his reverie by the sound of approaching footsteps – the kind that moved with deliberate purpose in his direction. For a moment he panicked, thinking that someone had talked to the Anbu or that the Hyūga had managed to penetrate the seals in Jiraiya's bedroom after all, but it was only Sakura. She had taken Ino's team along with her.

"Sakura," he said in relief. She looked different clad in her white medical robes and with short hair, but she was still a very welcome sight to see. "And Shikamaru, and Ino, and Chōji! It's great to see you guys."

"Yeah, yeah," said Shikamaru, whose posture was designed to convey with maximum efficiency that he had not, in fact, planned on coming out of bed this morning. "Would you mind explaining why we're here? Your message was a bit, uh, cryptic."

"Right," Naruto said hastily. He had been restricted in his communications since anything that could be conveyed to his fellow classmates could also be understood by potential enemies. Of course, it was entirely possible that Shikamaru had understood his message perfectly and was now putting up an act, which did not exactly make matters simpler. "Like I said, I think I've figured out a way to make all of us a lot stronger. But since it involves secret techniques, we're gonna need some privacy."

"We could use my clan's underground training area," said Chōji, who looked as carefree as ever. If anything he seemed a bit apologetic about the air his team was projecting – or was that just his usual hungry look? "My dad won't mind: There's plenty of space and it's not like anyone's using it right now."

"Thanks Chōji." The Akamichi seemed like a decent bunch, at least.

Ino exchanged a meaningful look with Sakura. "Secret techniques? Do you mean our clans' special ninjutsu? You're not planning some sort of jutsu-sharing scheme, are you?"

"Uhm."

Sakura let out a loud groan. "Naruto, do you really think that you're the first person in Konoha to come up with that idea? The whole reason the noble clans agreed to join up with the Senju and the Uchiha was because they were promised they could hold on to their ancestral knowledge. Have you never heard the saying _your secrets are your life?_ There is no way you can discuss a technique without revealing its weaknesses, and the moment its weaknesses are revealed it becomes a liability. Nobody in their right mind would agree to just give you a knife to hold to their throats like that."

"She's right," said Ino, who at least managed to sound a touch more contrite about it. "Besides, it's not like you could learn the Mind Body Switch technique even if I told you about it. These techniques were designed to perfectly suit our clans' individual talents, and we've practiced them from birth." She shot a glance at Sakura. "Well, forehead girl here could probably learn them because she is a cheating cheatster with perfect chakra control, but no _normal_ person could."

Sakura quirked her lips, but said nothing.

"It's not about wanting to learn your techniques," Naruto protested. "It's about seeing if there's ways to improve on them or combine them, or to use them in clever ways you might not have thought of." He could not actually offer any examples while they were still out in the open, which made the whole conversation ridiculously unfair. "Look, if we could just go someplace private for a moment…"

"Forget it," said Shikamaru. "I know what you're thinking, but it's just not gonna happen. Specializing in a single technique is simply more efficient than learning a bunch of them halfway and trying to use them together. You might be able to use shadow clones to make that work, but for the rest of us it's just easier to achieve the same thing with teamwork the way we do now." He shrugged. "Besides, if I actually told you any of our clan secrets my dad would kill me, and then my mum would have to kill _him_ , so there's that."

"Seriously? That's your excuse?" Naruto clenched his fists. "Shikamaru, you're too smart not to realize what's at stake here. This fake peace isn't gonna last forever, and we need to be prepared for when it ends. You're just pretending not to understand because you don't wanna put in the extra effort."

"Yeah, you figured me out." He turned to Ino. "Are we about done here? We still have our own team training to attend to, plus whatever it is you guys do together. Dissecting frogs or whatever."

"We're actually taking kunoichi classes tonight," said Ino. "You should come along, Shika: You could stand to learn a thing or two about how to treat women." She smiled playfully at him, and got exactly the pained grunt she must have been hoping for in reply.

Chōji gave Naruto an apologetic look as he followed after the retreating pair, but Naruto waved him off. He knew how to recognize a lost battle by now. He turned his hopes to the last remaining member of the four, and the only one who he actually stood a chance of convincing.

"What about you, Sakura-chan? Are you gonna leave too?"

Sakura seemed to hesitate, looking first to the disappearing trio, then back at Naruto. "If you actually have a plan of some sort, and we're not just going to be standing around all day?"

"Oh no, I have some great ideas," he said, too relieved to even think twice about it. "I just need to, you know, have some people show up first."

Which might take a while. He had no idea how many people had actually read his message, or who was planning on coming for that matter. He should have just gone house-to-house to convince people in person, but then they would probably just have gotten annoyed at him for bothering them during dinner or something. That always seemed to happen, somehow.

He scratched the back of his head. "So uh, how is the apprenticeship going? You know, at the hospital and stuff."

"It's been interesting," Sakura said, tugging a stray hair behind her ear. "I'm being trained by Tsunade of the Sannin now. She made me her personal apprentice – the first she's had in decades, apparently."

Naruto blinked. _"Tsunade?_ You mean Jiraiya's old teammate? How the heck did you manage that?"

Her lips quirked into a smile. "Oh, you know, crazy things tend to happen when you're in Team Seven. I can honestly say that I couldn't have managed it if I hadn't spent so much time around you and Kakashi-sensei."

"Eh? Hey, that's an insult, isn't it? I don't know why, but I'm pretty sure you're insulting me right now."

Sakura smiled, but said nothing. She seemed to be in a funny mood, somehow.

Naruto looked around awkwardly, trying to spot any sign of others approaching. Sakura's funny mood was bound to turn less fun if someone did not show up soon. A minute later he saw movement on the other side of the river, and he did a double take as he recognized the figures. Hinata was there, dressed in white Hyūga training robes, alongside her cousin Neji who was dressed in matching attire. They almost looked like siblings now, weirdly enough. As for the third figure, however…

Aside from his forest green chūnin jacket he was clad all in black, his chakra blade slung over his shoulder as he sauntered towards them with both hands in his pockets. On his right shoulder the Uchiha crest was displayed in the centre of a blue shuriken, reminiscent of the Uchiha police force of old, if indeed it was not literally an old uniform from the station. If he was trying to send a message with that, its meaning was not too hard to guess.

"Hey Sakura." Sasuke took a hand from his pocket to wave at her, then turned to Naruto. "Hey dropout."

Naruto gritted his teeth as he looked to Hinata, who wore an expression that very much said _don't talk about it:_ And Naruto told himself that he would hold off for her sake, even though he knew perfectly well that if he postponed it now he would not be able to manage the same anger later, and by then the whole thing would be considered old news and everyone would call him childish for even bringing it up.

And in the end Sasuke would get away with it all, just like he always got away with everything.

Sakura looked from one to the other, the smile falling from her face. "Oh Sage. Please tell me you two are not fighting over something again."

"I'm not," said Sasuke, "and since you need at least two people to have a fight, I guess that means we can't be fighting."

Bile shot up in Naruto's throat, a burning fury that reacted more to the ease of Sasuke's dismissal than to the offense itself: To the confidence, the ironclad certainty, the sheer _knowledge_ that he would get away with it. That everyone would just treat it as a joke. His fists balled up ever harder.

"Enough," said Hyūga Neji, stepping between them. "I have no time for your petty squabbles. I came here for one reason and one reason only: Lady Hinata told me that you would be able to help me become stronger. Did she speak truly?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, not taking his eyes off Sasuke. The Uchiha seemed as disinterested as ever, which could not have made Naruto angrier if he had tried. "Probably. But we gotta go someplace private first."

"Our clan has sealed chambers for jutsu research," Hinata said, looking distinctly uncomfortable. "I don't think my father would agree to let outsiders use it, though..."

"No need," said Sasuke. "We can use mine."

Naruto choked. _"Yours-"_

"That's a great idea," said Sakura. "The Uchiha compound should give us plenty of space. Is that really all right, though, Sasuke-kun? We don't want to impose…"

"It's fine," said Sasuke. "It's not like anyone is using it right now. I'd rather it see some purpose than just leave it to gather dust."

"Thank you sensei," Hinata said, relieved. "That's very kind of you."

Naruto's blood was exploding in his ears. It was as if everyone was conspiring to try and get him to attack Sasuke right there in the street, but the sheer knowledge that they were not doing it on purpose made it a thousand times more effective. _Or perhaps you used the Sharingan on them too, Sasuke? Is there anyone you have not manipulated already?_

"What about the others?" Hyūga Neji managed to make it sound like he did not care about the answer in the slightest. "Do they not still believe that we are meeting up here?"

"I have a solution for that," said Sasuke. He formed the hand signs for the summoning technique, and a small hawk appeared on his shoulder. Its talons dug into the fabric of his armoured chūnin jacket as it examined each of them, seeming to look right through them in that way birds of prey always did.

"A messenger bird," Sakura said, letting out a soft whistle in appreciation of the deadly animal. "Did Kakashi-sensei teach you that technique?"

"Yeah, he's been spending a lot of time teaching me lately. Plus I already had my family's summoning contract so I figured I might as well." He tied a small scroll around the bird's neck and placed it on the bridge post, his Sharingan briefly flaring into life as he looked it in the eye. "I've instructed it to inform any of the others to follow after us if they show up. Assuming that's all right with you, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up. "What?"

"If you're all right with me taking initiative here?" He looked at Naruto with an expression of perfect innocence. "After all, this whole thing was your idea, and I wouldn't want to steal your thunder or anything."

Naruto half opened his mouth and stared at him wordlessly. Was Sasuke _trying_ to get him to murder him in the street? Was it part of some ploy to get Naruto arrested by the Anbu or something? Was that why Sasuke was wearing that old police uniform? To highlight the contrast between them?

Everyone was staring at him now, he realized.

"No," he ground out. "That sounds like a good idea, Sasuke."

"Great. Let's go then." They all set off in the direction of the Uchiha district, tantalizing dreams of homicide bouncing around in the back of Naruto's skull. There was still a possibility that he was imagining the whole thing; that was the maddening part. Because if Sasuke _was_ messing with Naruto intentionally, then he had certainly intended to do it in such a way that Naruto would start to question his own sanity, which made it all the more effective.

They followed the Naka river to the old Uchiha district, which lay on the outskirts of the Village close to the cliff on which the Hokage's faces were carved. It was how strange to think how little changed as they passed through the open gate leading into the compound. The buildings became a little more traditional and a fair bit more expensive, but the people living in them looked no different. Trading, talking, going happily about their way. It really did not look like a ghost town at all.

That is, until they arrived at the part that was still owned by Uchiha Sasuke.

"Here," said Sasuke, leading them underneath a red tori gate marking the entrance to a sacred site. An old religious building rose up before them, with a two-tiered main hall with a grand gabled roof followed by a broader single-tier structure extending behind it to either side. "This should suit our purposes."

"The Naka shrine?" Sakura gave him a concerned look. "Is it really all right for us to be training in there, Sasuke?"

He shrugged. "It's fine. My family used to hold clan meetings in there so they could talk in private, so it's not as if it was only used for religious reasons. Just try not to use anything too explosive in there."

Several glances were shot in Naruto's direction, which he ignored.

Sasuke went up the stone steps and led them towards the ornate front gate, where he placed his hand upon the otherwise featureless door. A clicking sound could be heard as a mechanism turned, and before their eyes the door revolved and opened up on its own accord.

"Let's go," said Sasuke.

An old, musky smell met them as they entered. It was too dark to make anything out at first, but Sasuke searched out the torches on the wall with his Sharingan and ignited each of them with a simple fire technique. One by one the flames went up until they were surrounded by a circle of light.

"It's emptier than I imagined," said Neji. His Byakugan was activated, and so he had not actually bothered to look around before saying this. "Where are all your religious artefacts?"

"Confiscated, mostly." Sasuke lit up the last of the torches and turned to indicate the small collection of relics which still stood displayed on an unassuming alter in the corner. "I took the remainder to my house, where it would be easier to protect them. Though I suppose that was mostly an illusion."

The walls of the shrine were painted with what appeared to be artistic depictions of strange, elemental spirits. At the centre of it all was a growling, monstrous creature with four eyes, the Sharingan emblazoned in every one of them. The Uchiha guardian spirit, Naruto supposed.

"I don't get it," he said. "We already live in a world with real monsters and spirits. What is the point in coming up with new ones to believe in?" Kurama was as real as could be, but it was not as if Naruto was about to fall on his knees and worship _him_. Though he did talk to him in search of answers and had sought solace with him when he lay dying, now that he thought about it.

 _I'd better not mention that to the old Fox,_ Naruto thought. _He might start to grow an ego._

"I don't think it's about that," Hinata whispered. Her voice had taken on a hushed tone upon entering the shrine, making her sound a bit more like her old self. "I think it's about recognizing that there are things which are greater than any of us; that no matter how powerful a ninja you are, you're still helpless before the inner mysteries of the world itself."

"Hm. Sounds like the Uchiha lacked ambition," said Naruto.

Sakura scowled in his direction, but Sasuke only smirked. "I used to know one or two of them who would have agreed with you," he said. Then his smile disappeared, and he suddenly went very still indeed.

"Sasuke?" Sakura had that worried expression again, though this time Naruto had to wonder as well.

"Never mind," he said, still clearly shaken. He touched a seal upon the wall (disguised as yet another Sharingan) and the door closed behind them with an eerie creak. "We came here for a reason. Naruto?"

"Uh, right." Everyone was looking at him, and he was struck by a sudden fear that he would forget everything he had planned and that they would all accuse him of wasting their time. "I came you all here because, uh…" He shook his head. "I mean, I asked you to come here so I could explain to you how ninjutsu really works at a fundamental level, so we could share our knowledge and become stronger by combining, uhm…"

"Give them an example," said Sasuke.

"Right." Naruto fumbled with his hands, trying to decide which seals to form first. "I guess I should start by saying that what the academy teaches us about ninjutsu is all wrong. It's not actually the case that abilities exist as distinct phenomena, but instead, there are common underlying patterns which-"

"What are you going on about?" Neji gestured impatiently. "I thought you were going to reveal your secret training methods to us. During the chūnin exams, you managed to master both light release _and_ explosion release within the span of a single month. Tell us how you managed _that."_

"That's what I was gonna explain," Naruto protested. "The thing is, there are underlying principles behind these techniques, which if you learn them can be used to-"

"Hold on," said Sasuke, "my animal summon has returned." He touched a different seal on the wall, and this time when the door opened three new figures stood in the entrance. There was a hawk perched upon the head of the first figure, seeming quite at ease there. Perhaps it thought her giant round buns made for an excellent nest.

"Hello? Can we enter?"

"Tenten," said Naruto, disbelieving. "And Lee! You guys came?"

"Clearly," the third figure said as he dusted himself off. "How can you tell? Because we have arrived."

Naruto blinked. "Shino? Huh, I didn't think I even remembered to send an invitation to you."

The hooded figure remained impassive. "You did not."

Before Naruto could reply, Rock Lee shoved his way into the room. There was desperation in his eyes, and his bushy brow was set in an uncharacteristic grimace. "Naruto-san, is it true?" He was holding Sasuke's crumpled letter in his hand. "Is it really true that you can teach me your youthful power?"

"Uh," said Naruto. "I'm not sure I'd phrase it exactly like that…"

"Lee!" Tenten grabbed her teammate by the shoulder and roughly pulled him back. "Grab a hold of yourself: We're in a place of worship right now!" She looked at the others, who were all staring at her. "By which I mean, uh, that we should be… we should all try to be quiet. Is what I'm saying."

"Enough, Tenten," said Neji. "Everyone is here now. We should begin."

"Right," said Naruto. He cast an uncertain glance around. "Should I just start over, or…"

Sasuke let out a sigh, activated the seal that closed the door again, and moved up to a small dais in the back of the shrine which must have been used for religious sermons. He turned to face them, the painting of the Uchiha guardian spirit rearing up behind him as he addressed the group.

"How did the First Hokage die?"

The question rang throughout the hollow, empty room. "The First Hokage was heralded as the god of shinobi," Sasuke continued. "He single-handedly united the warring clans in the Land of Fire to found Konoha, tamed the tailed beasts and brought peace to the world – for a time, at least. But nowhere in the history books does it say what happened to him after that. So how did he die?"

Rock Lee furrowed his thick black eyebrows. "An amazing ninja like that… he must have fallen in battle! He must have died in a heroic duel facing an even greater, stronger ninja."

"The last great duel Hashirama fought was with my ancestor, Uchiha Madara," Sasuke said. "Madara had tamed the nine-tailed beast to his will and used it to harness unimagined destructive power. Hashirama had no choice but to use his wood style ninjutsu to slowly drain the Kyūbi's chakra over time and turn it into a battle of attrition. They say their battle lasted seven days and seven nights, which is almost certainly a lie. However, the fact that the Valley of the End was carved into the earth during that fight is not. There has never been a greater ninja than either of them since."

A quiet fell across the room. The flickering torchlight cast long shadows across the chamber, and for a moment it almost seemed to Naruto as if the painted figures on the walls were _moving._ The creature behind Sasuke had been painted stylistically, with countless red lines turning and twisting together to create the impression of a monster, almost as if it were made of fiery strings. It actually looked a bit like Kurama, Naruto realized in surprise, though he had never heard of the Fox taking on a form like that.

"Any shinobi can be defeated with superior numbers," Neji said doubtfully. "He must have sacrificed his life to hold off a far superior force of enemy ninjas."

"It could have been a disease," Hinata whispered. "Anyone can die to something like that, no matter how strong they are."

"Unlikely," Shino said. "Why? Because the records of the First Hokage end too suddenly for that to be the case, and there was no mention of him being ill."

"Maybe he made a mistake while infusing an explosive tag?" Tenten raised her hands in a warding gesture. "Hey, I'm just saying, it can happen to the best of us."

"Close," said Sasuke. He gestured at Sakura. "Tell them."

Sakura looked surprised, but quickly rallied and adopted a lecturing stance as she addressed the group. "Most documentation on the First Hokage is restricted, and what little I could get access to was either vague or contradictory. However, I finally managed to find the answer by asking his granddaughter, Tsunade of the Sannin." She paused for a moment as she looked each of them in the eye. "The First Hokage died when a stray kunai hit him in the eye during a sparring match, killing him instantly."

There was an intake of air as several people sucked in breaths. Naruto could tell that even if the others did not understand _why_ this fact was important, they still realized on a gut level that it was. The First Hokage was the founder of the Village. If even his legacy had been obscured, then…

"You have been lied to," said Sasuke. "All your lives you have been taught to venerate your ancestors: To believe that they were unbeatable legends, the closest thing to being gods. However, the reality of it is that they were ordinary humans, no different from the rest of us. And the consequence of this lie, intentional or not, was to prevent anyone else from following in their footsteps." He turned to face Naruto. "Tell me: If you had declared an intention to become Hokage back during our academy days, what would have happened?"

"I would've been laughed at," Naruto said. Did the fact that Sasuke was asking _him_ that question mean that he had already figured out his true parentage? But then, he supposed that was the part of his secret that people were _supposed_ to figure out, so they would be satisfied with regards to his strength and stop looking. "You're supposed to admire the Hokage, not to rival them, let alone surpass them."

Neji fixed his eyes on Sasuke, which given that his Byakugan was active had to be purely for show. "How does this relate to us learning new techniques? Are you telling us that there are pathways to power which are being deliberately kept from us?"

"Precisely." The room seemed to darken around Sasuke, even though the torchlight remained just the same. "The Konoha Council would do anything to prevent another Uchiha Itachi – to prevent too much knowledge and power from falling into the hands of someone they cannot control." His Sharingan blazed into life, and Naruto averted his gaze instinctively. "This meeting is not to be spoken of to anyone. If somebody does leak even a small part of what we discuss today, that person will be treated exactly as if they had spilled any other secret that pertains to our lives and deaths. Is that clear?"

There were some hurried nods and murmurs of assent.

"Good. In that case, Naruto, show them what you can do." Sasuke deactivated his Sharingan.

"Right," Naruto said again. Somehow, he knew that this time he would get the message right.

"We all learned in the academy that there's a mental and a physical component to every technique," he began. He took up the same spot on the dais which Sasuke had left, and waited until Sakura, Hinata, Lee, Tenten and the others all had their eyes on him. "What they didn't say is that that's _all_ there is to it."

He focussed his chakra through the tattoo on his left palm until a beam of pure light flashed out, bathing the hall of the temple in a sudden light that made the two Hyūga take a step back and shield their eyes. "Whether it's a hand sign or a written seal, the basic idea is the same: You force your chakra into a certain physical shape that for whatever reason is associated with a given change in chakra nature. After that, it's just a question of making it do what you want."

He formed the hand signs for the transformation technique, directing the light to flow around him in a radiant aura until it filled up the entire room, basking them all in a gentle golden glow. "Light release is supposed to be some kind of inherited ability, but I can achieve the same thing using only a seal from a flash-tag and an academy level technique. That's not because I'm using some kind of trick: It's because that's literally all light release _is._ " Naruto looked at each of his friends in turn, willing them to understand. "The clans all pretend like their techniques are the result of some special bloodline because they don't want them to be stolen, but the fact is that there really is no such thing as inherited techniques at all. The ability to control your chakra and make it do what you want is all there is."

Almost as an afterthought, he decided to break the light into its full visible spectrum, and a brilliant rainbow burst into life, the colours dancing from his fingertips as he willed them to chase each other through the temple like a parade of laughing spirits, pushing and bouncing against the walls as they filled the once-empty shrine with life once more. With a little imagination one could almost imagine them as the lost souls of the fallen Uchiha children, though of course that was only make-believe.

Naruto lowered his hand, and one by one the lights died out. He imagined the last of them chasing each other through the exit, laughing as they vanished into the night.

"This technique," Neji said, his Byakugan whiter than Naruto had ever seen it before. "Could I learn it?"

"Probably not," said Naruto. Was that a tear in the corner of Hinata's eye, or was that just his imagination? "Like I said, every technique has a mental as well as a physical component. It's a bit hard to explain, but basically, unless you can create a flash tag from scratch it wouldn't work for you. Even then, it'd come out differently depending on the kind of mindset you have." He glanced towards Sasuke, who looked just as impassive as ever. _No points for guessing why it creates pure blackness when he uses it._

"I know how to create flash tags," Tenten said helpfully.

"Yeah, it should work for you," Naruto said. "Though explosion release might be a better fit. I was actually gonna teach light release to Shikamaru since it'd combine perfectly with his shadow techniques, but I guess we'd have to convince him to join us first." Though now that he thought about it, it was entirely possible that Shikamaru's shadow binding was already based on light release and he had simply not wanted to share his knowledge. In fact, the more Naruto considered the possibility, the more likely it seemed.

"We can decide that later," said Sasuke. He walked up to the dais again, and Naruto reluctantly stood aside. "Like Naruto said earlier, this period of fake peace is not going to last forever. Whether it's the Sand or some different enemy, Konoha will find itself at war once more. When that happens, our lives will depend on our ability to defend ourselves and our willingness to defend each other." He cast his gaze across the room, a faint shimmer in his unyielding black eyes. "There may be those among you who think that going behind the backs of the Council makes us trash. However, the kind of person who-"

"Wait," said Neji, his Byakugan flaring up. "There is somebody at the door. I can see the fluctuations in the chakra flowing along the walls as they attempt to interfere with your seals."

A distinct silence fell over the group. They all turned to look at the featureless stone door, but of course there was nothing to be seen. The whole point of covering the building in seals was to prevent others from spying on them. However, that also meant that even the Byakugan was utterly blind with regards to what was happening outside. The whole Village could be under siege for all they knew.

"Maybe it's Kiba-kun?" Hinata sounded as doubtful as she looked. "He said that this is all a waste of time, but maybe he changed his mind."

Nobody responded to this.

"Get ready," said Sasuke. He unsheathed his sword, and Naruto did the same. Insects began to flow from Shino's robes as Tenten unsealed a giant siege crossbow and aimed it at the entrance. Lee took up position beside the door, his back pressed against the wall in preparation for an ambush, while Sakura hid in the back and prepared her genjutsu technique. If it was the Anbu they were up against then all their efforts would be in vain, but perhaps they could dissuade them from attempting to immediately knock out the group and wiping their memories at least.

Sasuke edged towards the seal on the wall which opened the door, one hand still holding his blade at the ready. He gave a single nod towards Naruto.

Naruto gave a nod back.

Sasuke pressed his hand to the seal, and the door swung open. Behind it stood two shadowy figures, one of which seemed to step back in surprise. The other, however, merely looked up and strode into the room without a moment's hesitation. Her black kimono flowed behind her as she walked, the red obi around her waist flapping in tandem with her strides, a giant folding fan resting easily upon her back.

"Well how about that," said Temari, as she surveyed the room with a cold expression in her eyes. "All of Konoha's most talented little killers, holding a secret meeting behind their council's back." She slammed her metal fan upon the ground, and a hollow _clang_ reverberated throughout the room. "I want in."


	42. Trade and Trickery

**A/N:** Whenever I write a scene like last chapter where a piece of science or rationality is explained, I'm always faced with the problem that Naruto would not know that much science to begin with. If he did I would have liked to explain the concept of a scientific explanation: Namely that instead of trying to think of reasons why a phenomenon should exist, the goal is to describe in the simplest possible terms what's already going on. The idea that describing *how* something works is exactly the same as explaining *why* it works is an incredibly important insight which I think even people with a scientific background don't really grog intuitively.

Similarly, Naruto said last chapter that you can change the nature of chakra simply by pushing it into a certain physical shape. He concludes this because e.g. the summoning technique can be cast either by focusing chakra to your hands and making a physical sign with them, or by writing a specific shape with chakra-infused ink (i.e. a seal). That may sound weird and arbitrary, but there's actually a real world parallel here: Atoms work more or less the same way. Just by adding or subtracting a proton you can create a completely new element with totally different properties. That's always seemed like magic to me, so I figured if it sounds like magic IRL it's not too much of a stretch to have actual magic work the same way.

* * *

"You want in?" Naruto stared at the older sister of the boy he had murdered, uncomprehending. "What do you mean, you want in?"

"I mean I want in," Temari said, shooting a glance at the stylistic wall paintings that lined the main hall of the Uchiha shrine. "I want to take part in your little exchange. This is a ninjutsu trading scheme, isn't it?"

Sasuke pressed the seal to close the door, nearly crushing her younger brother in the process. "What gave you that impression?"

Temari blew a sandy blond lock out of her face, causing it to flutter up and fall back in line with the rest of her bangs where it belonged. "Don't act coy with me, pretty boy. Or was that for the benefit of your Hyūga minders?" She folded up her metal fan and sheathed it in the leather holster on the back of her black kimono. "Having to hide from your own people… how pathetic."

"You want to trade techniques with us?" Naruto looked around at the others, searching for any sign that they thought it as mad as it clearly was. "But we fought each other during the chūnin exams. How can you possibly want to trade with us after I ki-"

Sakura yanked Naruto back by the shoulder, nearly causing him to stumble and fall. "What my friend is trying to say is that we wouldn't want to get you into any kind of trouble. Surely the rest of your Village would not be too happy if you shared your secrets with us?"

Kankuro sniffed loudly. He had changed up his theatre-style purple face paint to look slightly more intimidating than the last time. "Don't lump us in with the rest of you Leaf types. We're the children of the Kazekage: There's nobody in the Sand who'd dare tell us no." He scratched the top of his head, causing his black hood to droop to the side and making him look decidedly uneven. "Well, uh, except for our father of course, but he's really busy and probably won't notice."

This was the psychopath who had made Tenten run away in abject terror during the chūnin preliminaries, Naruto was forced to remind himself. He glanced towards Tenten, but the mousy girl had set her jaw and was staring back at the puppet user defiantly.

She was still holding on to her giant siege crossbow.

Neji crossed his arms. "And why would you want to trade secrets with us? Even if you were to learn our techniques, you'd end up revealing your own weaknesses as well. It gains you nothing."

"That's why I said not to lump us in with you guys," Kankuro said, adjusting his oversized black hood. Those folds at the top were supposed to be _ears_ , Naruto realized in shock. And those purple stripes on his face… whiskers? Was the guy actually dressed up as a cat? "Unlike you, we grew up in the dessert: A barren wasteland where the weak die and only the strong survive. Even if you learn our secrets, it won't help you one bit!"

"I thought you grew up in a palace," said Sasuke.

Temari shot him an annoyed look. "You'll find that our courts are more deadly than most arenas. Not that you would understand, of course, being without a clan to teach you these things." She jerked her head towards Neji. "You can call off your henchman now, white eyes. We're not here to fight."

Neji gave the smallest nod. "You can come down, Lee."

There was an almost inaudible thump as Lee dropped down from the ceiling behind the Sand ninjas, landing on all fours with a kunai still gripped in his right hand. "Yosh! We'll give you the benefit of the doubt, then. Welcome to our secret meeting, foreign friends!"

"Uhm," said Hinata, "I'm not sure we can decide that yet." She flinched ever so slightly as everyone turned their attention on her. "I mean, it all still seems a bit… strange. Don't you think?"

Sasuke and Sakura glanced at each other, though Naruto was honestly not sure what the glance was supposed to convey. His teammates might both consider him 'unbearably naïve', but when it came to trusting ninjas from a foreign Village whose sibling he had murdered he was hardly about to disagree.

"Their proposal seems logical," said Shino. "Why? Because even if they are strictly hostile to us, an exchange still puts both sides ahead relative to those outside of our collective. Additionally, if we refuse the Sand, they might use their knowledge of this meeting against us. Cooperation seems strictly optimal."

"I don't care," said Tenten. "I don't trust them." She was still holding her giant crossbow. She had never stopped aiming it at Kankuro's chest.

"I agree with Lady Hinata and Tenten," said Neji. "Trusting these foreigners seems foolish."

Sakura gave a small nod towards Sasuke.

"All right," said Sasuke. He turned towards the Sand ninjas. "In that case…"

"Hold on," Naruto protested, "this whole meeting was my idea. Don't I get a say in things?"

"Fair enough," said Sasuke. "What do you think?"

"Uhm," said Naruto, realizing that he now had to come up with an opinion. "I mean, I kinda agree with Hinata-chan that the whole thing seems... weird. But if they really do wanna work with us, it could be a very good thing. Uhm, meaning the benefits outweighs the risk, as long as we don't reveal our biggest weaknesses to them or anything." He absolutely _had_ to get his hands on that puppet technique, and so did the rest of the group, whether they knew it or not. Besides which, this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity to try and mend the mistakes of the past and maybe even prevent a war in the future.

How had Jiraiya put it again? _"One day we'll take on all the darkness in the world, kiddo, you and me, but right now this world just isn't fair at all…"_

And of course, the Fourth's dream had been exactly the same once, ever so long ago.

Sasuke nodded slowly. "In that case, I'll add my vote to Naruto's. You two are welcome to take part in our jutsu exchange as long as the trade is fair. However, if either of my Hyūga friends notice you doing anything untoward…"

"You'll pluck out our eyes and feed us to the jackals," Temari said, waving him away. "I know, we do the same thing back home."

"Uh," said Kankuro, "I don't think they have jackals in the Land of Fire, sis."

Naruto was swiftly coming to regret his decision.

* * *

"So really all you have to do is infuse the seal on your palm the same way you would an explosive tag," Naruto explained. "As long as you got the right, uh, explosive mindset while you're doing it, you basically end up creating explosion-release chakra. The only downside is that, well, you have to tattoo a high-end explosive onto your hand with indelible chakra ink which goes off if you think about it too hard."

Tenten was staring at him with an unreadable expression, and Naruto shuffled awkwardly on the floor as he awaited the moment that she would yell at him for being an idiot. Instead, however, she merely looked back at the seal on Naruto's hand. "And I could use this to imbue my throwing weapons?"

"That's the idea," he said. "But, without shadow clones it'd be kinda hard to do so, since you don't really wanna buy chakra-forged weapons only to have them explode on first use." He glanced towards Shino, who was sitting next to him on the floor of the modest prayer room that the four of them had retreated to while his clone and the others dealt with the Sand siblings. "It would actually be much more useful for you, Shino, since you could transfer the explosive chakra to your bugs and detonate them while they're near your enemies. But since you're not a seal user, I guess it's a moot point."

That was the problem with transferring Naruto's best techniques to his classmates: They were all designed to work for _him,_ and the whole thing kind of fell apart the moment one of the necessary pieces turned out to be missing. He wondered if Tenten was as disappointed as he would be in her place.

"It is just as well," said Shino. "The reason being, my insects are already able to carry explosive tags to their target if necessary." He adjusted his glasses, which gleamed darkly in the shimmering torchlight. "Additionally, it would be preferable if they possessed a method of attack which was less self-destructive."

"Uh, yeah," said Naruto. Shino still creeped him out somehow, even when he was not covered in bugs. "I was actually thinking that your greatest strength is your ability to exchange chakra between yourself, your bugs and your target. You're pretty much the only one of us who has a reliable way to store chakra, since chakra tends to resist being sealed." He shot a nervous glance towards the only door to their room. Temari and Kankuro were not _supposed_ to have any sensing techniques, and Hinata and Neji had their eyes on them regardless, but you never knew with ninjas. "In fact, I have been working on a technique which I think might be perfect for you, but you'd only be able to use it once." He drew a scroll from his pouch and unsealed its contents, revealing an ornate three-pronged dagger within.

Tenten let out a small gasp, and even Rock Lee perked up at the sight of the old heirloom. "Is that…"

"Don't tell anyone," he said hurriedly. "Nobody is supposed to know I have this." He unfurled the parchment which he had wrapped around the handle of the knife. "This is a summoning scroll, the kind we were given in the Forest of Death. The basic idea is that you fill the knife with chakra, clone it, and then when the cloned knife hits your target the resulting burst of chakra activates the scroll and summons you to its location." He showed the scroll to Shino. "The thing is, I tested it and the natural resistance that makes it so difficult to seal chakra also makes it much harder to summon it, at least when it comes to people rather than spirit animals, since those kinda have to be able to absorb natural chakra just to stay alive. So if you're able to shunt all your chakra elsewhere, even temporarily, it suddenly becomes possible to teleport yourself without it costing everything you have."

Shino examined the scroll, his hooded face refusing to give the slightest indication of what he thought. "In other words, you would have my allies temporarily absorb my chakra and then carry this scroll in their pincers so they can summon me to their location before transferring the chakra back to me."

"Yeah," said Naruto. "Though like I said, since you aren't able to make more of these it's something you can only use once. In case of, you know – a bad situation." He became aware that Tenten was staring at the scroll with a distinctly hungry look in her eyes, and he instantly felt guilty again.

"This doesn't mean I have nothing to offer you though," he hurriedly said to Tenten. "You're a weapons expert as well as a seals mistress, so the best way to combine that would be to get you a seal-based weapon like that fan Temari uses. I was thinking I could assign one of my shadow clones to teach you light-release and show you some of the sealing tricks Jiraiya has taught me, and then maybe we could badger Sasuke to lend us some money so we can build you a chakra weapon of your own."

"A seals mistress," she repeated hollowly. She kept staring at the tattoos on Naruto's hands, only to look back at her own empty palms. "You know, I used to go into the forest surrounding the training glades every morning, searching for any unused explosive tags that the older ninjas might have left lying around. My parents kept telling me it was too dangerous, saying they would find me a teacher so I could make my own, but they could never afford to hire them for more than a few hours at a time." Her hands scrounged up, her fingers clasping the folds of her plain green trousers. "Why? Why are you…"

Lee clasped a hand on her shoulder and smiled brightly. "It is only natural that friends should help each other, is it not? After all, you helped Naruto-san during his fight against Gaara by letting him use that water scroll." He shot Naruto a look of purest gratitude, with only the tiniest hint of jealousy mixed in. He really did not seem to mind having to sit there and listen to the rest of them very much at all.

"I don't think you quite get it," Naruto said carefully. "I'd be teaching you how to use seals too, Lee."

Lee's face remained perfectly fixed. "Perhaps it is the case that nobody ever told you, Naruto-san, but my coils are incapable of moulding chakra effectively. I am unable to use ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind."

"No you're not," said Naruto. "You're only unable to project chakra outside your body, but you can use chakra to boost your muscles just fine. If you're able to walk on water you can mould enough chakra to activate a seal which is tattooed into your own hands and feet." Even Inari had managed to use an explosive tag back in the Land of Waves, and he had been a civilian. Naruto flinched only briefly at the thought. "Tenten will infuse the storage seals for you each morning and fill them up with water and whatever else we can come up with, and you'll use them to create platforms to change direction in mid-air and unleash seal-encrusted indestructible projectiles while moving at your Eight-Gates boosted top speed." He looked him in the eyes. "Like you said, it's only natural that friends should help each other."

Slowly, Lee's hand dropped from Tenten's shoulder.

* * *

"It took me some time to figure out how your fan works," Naruto said, trying to contain his excitement and failing. "At first I thought it was the seals that you obscured with those purple sun markings, but if that were the case you wouldn't really need to swing the fan at all. So then I thought to myself, what is it that makes wind different from other elements like earth and water? And that's when I realized that wind is _motion,_ and so even though you can save chakra by using an existing source of earth or water you still need to expend energy to make it move towards the enemy, but with wind you only need to start the effect and then you can simply amplify it with ninjutsu in a way that directly feeds upon itself."

Temari stared at him and said nothing.

"Uh, right. I guess you want me to get to the technique sharing part." Naruto shifted uncomfortably upon his tatami mat, shooting occasional furtive glances to the others, none of whom looked about to spring to his aid. He definitely could not bring up Gaara's death, but he also could not _not_ apologize for it, which made it one of those unwinnable situations he somehow kept seeming to get himself into. "The most obvious way to boost your wind scythe technique would be to seal compressed air or maybe even poison gas into your fan like Tenten did with her water scroll, but I'm guessing since you even inscribed the summoning seal onto your fan you already thought of that one."

She was still looking at him with those unyielding teal eyes of hers. She still said nothing.

He swallowed thickly. "Speaking of which, I've been thinking lately about a way to summon even, uhm, people. It would actually make things a lot easier if you guys had access to a technique or a drug or something which could be used to temporarily suppress your chakra."

Kankuro exchanged a glance with his older sister. "I think elder Chiyo might have something like that."

"Great," said Naruto, relieved. "Then if I teach you my people summoning technique, in exchange, do you think you could teach us that puppet technique of yours? I, uh, think it could be really useful to us."

"Hey, hold on a moment," said Kankuro, raising his hands in a warding gesture. "Sharing our knowledge is great and all, but the puppet technique is the Hidden Sand's pride and joy. Lady Chiyo would _literally_ kill me if I taught you that. And I know I said all that stuff about the Kazekage's children being untouchable, but uh, rules and logic don't apply to Lady Chiyo. Trust me on this one."

Naruto deflated. "Okay, well… what if you just taught us the chakra strings part of the technique? It's nowhere near as useful without being able to project the puppet technique through it, but I saw how you used it to deflect incoming kunai and pick up stuff while fighting Tenten and that could still come in handy." Naruto did his best to keep his breathing steady, fearing the moment that one of them would pick up on the rapid beating in his chest, but fortunately he already had an excuse to be nervous.

Kankuro exchanged another look with Temari. "Well… I mean, I guess there isn't much harm in that. You need some pretty intense chakra control to learn the technique, though. There's a reason why puppet masters are usually medical ninjas as well, in addition to being sealing masters, expert craftsmen and hidden weapon specialists." He said that last bit with more than just a hint of pride.

"The Gentle Fist is also known to require a great deal of chakra control," Hinata said. "Brother Neji and I could most likely learn this technique as well, I think."

The older Hyūga looked unconvinced. "Is this really going to make us stronger, Uzumaki? The Hyūga became the Leaf's greatest clan through our specialization in the Gentle Fist, not by learning how to more efficiently rearrange nearby household objects."

"I'm sure Sasuke will explain the finer applications of noncombat techniques to you later," Naruto shot back. He was not sure why he was even taking the time to help those two: It was pretty clear that their abilities would only end up being used to Sasuke's benefit, anyway.

Naruto chanced a glance at the Uchiha heir, who was leaning against one of the main hall's painted walls a short distance away from the rest of them. He had a far off look in his eyes, as if he had more important things to think about than a secret ninjutsu exchange between hostile ninjas from competing nations taking place right before his eyes, though Naruto was not sure how that was even possible.

"What about you, Sakura?" He extended her a hopeful glance, willing her to understand the true implications of a technique that could be used to project other techniques. "A medical ninja with perfect chakra control like you could definitely learn to use something like this."

She frowned, though he could not tell whether it was in consideration of Naruto's words or if she was thinking about the technique itself. "I suppose. It's at least something that might be of some use in the hospital, rather than yet another way to kill people or blow things up."

Naruto smiled at her in a way that was probably not really all that suspicious at all.

"All right," said Kankuro, eagerly leaning forward. "Here's the idea: You know how chakra dissipates over time to become part of nature, and that's why techniques all have a limited effective range? Well, the chakra strings technique works around that by basically looping your chakra together in a chain. Each link in the chain is like a separate technique, and so even though each part of the technique still has a limited range it all adds up to something amazing when you take them all together."

Naruto and Temari watched as Kankuro produced a chakra-forged chain from a scroll to illustrate the concept, and one by one the genin and even Sakura were drawn into the Puppet Master's training exercise. Sakura naturally had the most success channelling her chakra through the metal chain, and she even beamed a little at the praise she got from the others, her earlier reluctance momentarily forgotten.

"This was all his idea, you know," Temari said after a while. "Following you to this meeting, trying to spy on you, exchanging ideas with you and learning your techniques. I thought it was all a waste of time."

Naruto frowned, trying to make sense of the strange girl in front of him. "Then why did you come?"

"I don't know," she said. "I was just walking down the street when I felt this sudden urge to find out what you were doing. I suppose I wanted to look the man who killed my baby brother in the eye – to see what kind of person it was that could kill the little boy who I always had to stop from hurting others, but never had to stop from being hurt. I wanted to find out if I could look at such a person without blinking."

Naruto swallowed. "And what did you see?"

She turned to regard him, her teal eyes as unreadable as ever. "Nothing much."


	43. Intrigue and Induction

**A/N:** The chapter title refers to induction, which is the opposite form of logic that Sherlock Holmes claims to be doing. Deduction is when you have eliminated all other possible answers, and so the remaining one must be correct. Induction is when you observe that pigs so far have never been shown to fly, and so conclude that they probably will never be able to. People sometimes sniff at this type of practical logic because we can't be _certain_ that pigs aren't inventing jetpacks as we speak. However, the fact is that we can never be 100% certain of anything in life, and so the ability to reliably guess at answers based on uncertain information is actually a crucial skill for any aspiring rationalist to learn.

* * *

Sasuke pushed himself away from the wall. "Naruto, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Naruto hastily got up, only barely remembering to create another shadow clone so that he could teach Temari his Poor Man's Flying Thunder God technique at the same time. The interior of the Naka Shrine shifted around him, and then he was following Sasuke to a dark corner of the hall. He did not look forward to receiving whatever lecture Sasuke had in store for him, but it was far preferable to having to stay there with Temari. Strangely enough, he knew that he would end up remembering the whole thing when his cloned body dispelled regardless, and yet it still felt as if he was escaping responsibility.

The two of them entered into a small alcove, and stopped there. "Sasuke? What is this ab-"

Sasuke formed the seals for the transformation technique, and pure darkness washed over Naruto as all light drained from the world around them. Not a second later Naruto could feel the floor give way beneath his feet, and he fell into a black abyss. There was a faint sound above him of stone scraping together, and then the only thing that could be seen was the red of Sasuke's Sharingan.

"Sasuke?" Naruto tried to scramble backwards, but felt his back pressed against a wall. "What…"

The red eyes seemed to turn away. A moment later a crimson flame blazed into life inside a nearby brazier, revealing the Uchiha in orange hues as the fire basked him in a warm glow.

"Sorry about that," Sasuke said as he set to ignite a second brazier. Its flames made a soft rustling sound as they began to lap up its contents. "I had to make sure the others couldn't listen in on us."

"Where are we?" Naruto clambered to his feet and looked around guardedly. The walls of the underground chamber were painted with yet more flowing crimson strings, creating the impression of a battlefield in flames, though this time the fire was anointed with floating white clouds and silver wings.

"My family used to meet here in secret," Sasuke said softly. "An underground meeting place inside of a sealed temple, for when they needed to keep something hidden even from the rest of the clan. I didn't find out about it until it was too late to ask." There was a stone tablet displayed against the far most wall, right in the middle between the two glowing braziers, and Sasuke gazed at it with an inscrutable look in his eyes. "I'll acknowledge you, Naruto. You might be an idiot in other ways, but when it comes to unconventional thinking there's none better. If there's anything you can tell me about the Sharingan, or about the history of my clan, I would be... grateful."

Naruto eyed him warily. "It would help if you'd start by telling me what you already know."

"I assume you've already figured out the basics," he said. "The Sharingan awakens in times of emotional stress, and it only becomes stronger the more you endure. You start by being able to see chakra, but you can also learn to cast genjutsu with it the way Kakashi taught me. It doesn't actually let you see the future – that's just a lie we made up to hide its real abilities – but it does help you predict your opponent's movements based on small changes in their stance and muscles. It can't copy techniques either: It's just easier to learn them when you can see exactly how someone's chakra changes as they are casting theirs."

"I see," said Naruto.

"There's more to it though," said Sasuke. He kept staring at the stone slab with his Sharingan as if he were expecting it to come to life. "My ancestors, Uchiha Indra or possibly even the Sage of the Six Paths himself, left this tablet behind for us. It's inscribed with text written in pure chakra, and the more your Sharingan advances the more of it you can read. It talks about a way to develop your Sharingan into an even more powerful, stronger version known as the Mangekyō Sharingan, though the details of what you can do with it are unreadable unless you've already attained it."

 _Written in chakra?_ Now that was interesting. Chakra was supposed to dissipate over time, but Naruto supposed that the tablet could have been treated to hold chakra in the same way as his chakra-forged ninjatō. "We could have Hinata or Neji take a look at it," he said. "The Byakugan is supposed to have better insight than the Sharingan, after all."

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not that simple. The Sharingan interprets chakra in a specific way in order to translate it into visual stimuli. The Byakugan wouldn't be able to make sense of it."

That did not actually mean it could not be transcribed and translated separately, Naruto thought, but he let Sasuke continue. In the back of his mind however, the implications of _only known text left behind by the Sage of Six Paths_ kept churning.

"It says that in order to awaken the Mangekyō, you have to pay a certain… price," Sasuke said. "To gain power, one must sacrifice what is most precious to them." He clenched his hands, and Naruto did not think he was even aware that he was doing it. _"He_ made his first sacrifice when he killed his best friend, Uchiha Shisui. They found his body in the Naka River with a suicide note written in his own handwriting, but everyone knew that it had really been _him_. My father must have invited him to one of the secret meetings, and that's how it all started."

Naruto swallowed, but said nothing. He had this terrible sinking feeling, like he already knew what was really going on before he even had the necessary knowledge to truly _know_ it.

"Upon attaining the Mangekyō, new powers awakened within his eyes." Sasuke's voice had dropped to a whisper, and his red eyes had taken on a haunted, hollow look. "The inextinguishable black flames of Amaterasu, said to be able to burn even fire itself, and the unbreakable genjutsu known as Tsukuyomi." He turned and motioned at the images of divine fire painted all around them. "Once you look into his eyes, it's all over. Seconds turn into days, and days into years as he controls all sense of time and space within your mind. There is nothing, nothing…" He swallowed. "Nothing you can do. It's said to be the ultimate genjutsu, next to Shisui's Kotoamatsukami, which could be used to permanently change a person's mind, though that one can only be cast once a decade…" Sasuke's hands were trembling at an unsustainable rate now, and his whole body was shaking. His eyes no longer looked anywhere at all.

"Sasuke, stop." Naruto tried to place a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, but the Uchiha flinched and slapped Naruto's arm away before it could reach. "Stop," Naruto urged him again. "I think I've heard enough."

 _Sakura should be here for this,_ he thought. And yet, somehow, he suspected that Sasuke was glad that she was not. It was strange to think that Sasuke was somehow more willing to show his feelings to Naruto than to the girl he claimed to love. He could not pretend to make any sense of it.

"The Sharingan," Naruto said, "I think… I mean, it's pretty clear that it works by expelling chakra from the eyes. I used to consider that it might just see chakra by being more sensitive to light, but the fact that you can use it for genjutsu clinched it. And that means it's really just another tool to cast techniques with, only instead of forming hand signs you use those black markings on your eyes as seals to mould your chakra into the correct shape, just like how you can cast the summoning technique through either hand signs or by using a scroll. The fact that Uchiha It- I mean, the fact that _that man_ uses it to cast genjutsu and fire techniques with it, both of which he already knew how to do beforehand, kind of settles it for me."

Sasuke blinked, his expression still seeming strangely empty. "You're saying that the Mangekyō doesn't give you new techniques at all? Then why does it have unique eye patterns for each user?"

Naruto considered this. That did seem strange, but he had to remember that Sasuke was basing his knowledge on hearsay, old traumatic memories and a cryptic text upon a thousand year old rock.

"Alright," he said, "let's go through the possibilities. Those who acquire the Mangekyō were said to develop unique abilities as well as unique eye patterns, correct? So either one causes the other or it's all a coincidence and the pattern means nothing." Normally this would be the point to run some tests to distinguish the possibilities, but that was not exactly feasible in this case. "What about _his_ eyes? You said that he awakened two new abilities, right? Did he also have two separate patterns in his eyes?"

"No," said Sasuke. "It was the same in each. A hooked wheel with three spiralling curves."

"Then the two must be unrelated," said Naruto. "If the eyes look the same then probably the Mangekyo can be used to cast powerful abilities but they still have to be learned and practiced like any other technique. In that case, maybe the patterns change at the same time because you only develop the Mangekyō when you try to force out a technique which _requires_ that level of power, or… no wait. Let me think."

He closed his eyes and allowed his thoughts to flow over him the way Kakashi had shown him after the disaster in the Land of Waves. _Stick to what you already know_ , he thought to himself. _Don't try to come up with explanations just yet. Let the answer to the riddle follow naturally from the facts._

 _Fact: The Sharingan becomes stronger from stress. The Mangekyō requires even more stress to awaken._

 _Question: Why does it need to be awoken at all? What disadvantage is there to having more power?_

 _Corollary: What other examples of powers requiring stress to unlock are known?_

 _Answer: Only the Eight Gates technique, which enhances your power at the risk of hurting yourself._

 _Fact: The Sharingan works by expelling chakra through your eyes._

 _Fact: You need eyes to see things._

 _Also fact: The Sharingan is known as the eye of misery and madness._

Naruto's eyes flashed open. "It uses the Gate of Opening," he said. "The one located in the brain that Kakashi and Rock Lee also know how to activate. Your body normally limits your flow of chakra to avoid hurting yourself by accident, but you can override that with enough adrenaline and, well... emotional duress." He looked cautiously at Sasuke, who seemed to be taking this in without much reaction.

"You're saying that anyone with the Sharingan who has mastered the First Gate can awaken the Mangekyō? So all that stuff about having to kill your best friend – that was all a lie, then?"

"Well, an experience like that might help you do it by accident," Naruto said, "so the guy who inscribed that tablet was probably not lying. But Sasuke, this whole thing sounds stupidly dangerous. I know I tattooed an explosive seal onto my palm, but this is your _brain_ we're talking about. Trying to forcibly override the inhibitors in your head in order to shoot black fire out of your eyes does not seem smart."

"No," said Sasuke, still in a daze. "I suppose not."

"Right," said Naruto. "So in that case, Amaterasu is probably just a more powerful fire technique that somehow… feeds on the chakra of everything it touches, including other fire techniques? And Tsukuyomi works by massively accelerating the target's brain as well as your own, which is really incredibly powerful when you think about it." He took a deep breath. The implications of such a technique were already enormous, but he had not even gotten to the truly important part yet. "That just leaves the last Mangekyō technique you mentioned. Kotoamatsukami."

Sasuke looked at him warily, perhaps sensing something in Naruto's tone. "What about it?"

"You said that it gives complete control over the target's mind, with as downside that it can only be used once every ten years. Leaving aside the fact that no other jutsu we know of has a limitation like that, _how could anyone possibly know that?"_

Sasuke froze. "It would have to have been used at least twice, but Shisui was only seventeen when he died." Some of the same horror which Naruto also felt was creeping into his eyes and voice now. "Someone else must have learned the technique before him. Perhaps his grandfather, Uchiha Kagami…"

"Then how come there's no record of it ever being used? And more to the point, who would _believe_ something that convenient? Sasuke, imagine you're the Hokage. One day the Uchiha clan, which is known to hold secret meetings and lie about their true power, turns out to have access to the ultimate mind control technique. But don't worry, they say, it can only be used once every ten years. Also, only one of us can use it, and oh look he just died." He looked Sasuke in the eye. "Sasuke, if your father had access to a technique like that, who do you think he would have used it _on?"_

"The Hokage," Sasuke said. He stumbled back within the narrow room, his left arm nearly passing through the flames of the brazier as he went. "No wait. No, he wouldn't, because that's not what _I_ would do. The very first thing you would do if you had access to a mind control technique… oh Sage."

"Exactly," said Naruto. "The first thing you would do is to mind control the _other people who also have mind control techniques."_ That includes Ino's clan, who are very blatantly just using advanced genjutsu techniques to read and twist the minds of others because that's literally all any of this mind control stuff is."

Sasuke fell back against the wall opposite Naruto, the flickering braziers casting him in shades of dark orange. "My clan would have been a threat to the entire Village. So they pinned the blame on Shisui and made up some fake limitations to keep the Hokage from panicking while they figured out what to do, but then later they were all killed anyway. Because by that time the Council had figured out, or because somebody told them, that there is no such thing as inherited techniques at all…"

"By Uchiha Itachi," said Naruto, "who was a captain of the Anbu. Together with his subordinates. And the entire rest of the Anbu forces, most likely on the orders of Lord Danzō and the Third Hokage both."

Sasuke sank to the floor, his head resting against the wall amid the images of crimson strands and holy fire. "There were bodies, all over the streets, that night. There's no way… there was simply no way that nobody in the Village _noticed…"_

Naruto remained still, once again left without any words to say. If Sakura had been there, perhaps she would have been able to make things better somehow, but Naruto had never had that power. It felt as though he were back in the village of the ice and snow, standing over the fallen bridge builder. Back then he had carried the old man on his back rather than leave him to die, but even so he had still failed to save him. It seemed that this time would be no different.

"You're wrong," Sasuke rasped. "That's not what happened."

Naruto looked up. "What?"

"Kotoamatsukami. There's no way they would have let such a power go to waste. If you're right then anyone with a Mangekyō could learn it, and the person who did is responsible for everything."

 _Responsible for everything._ The words hammered into Naruto's skull. He had not even thought about it that way yet, but of course all of this had to be linked to the attack on Konoha all those years ago. First the Enemy had wiped out the Uzumaki clan, who were the greatest seal users of their time. Then they attacked the Leaf in such a way that only the Fourth Hokage could save it by sacrificing himself to seal Kurama. And then, a few years later, they arranged for the Uchiha clan to be wiped out so that they alone would be left with the power to control the minds of others.

"You assumed that everyone who could use Shisui's technique was killed before the coup could take place," Sasuke continued. "However, what if that's not the case?" The Sharingan had faded from his eyes, but when he looked at Naruto his black eyes gleamed just as darkly. "You said that the first thing you would do is to mind control anyone with the same ability. But what if you're just one person and you only just learned this new power from your closest friend? Even if all the other restrictions are a lie, using the Mangekyō still comes with risk. What would you do in that case, Naruto?"

"You would... you'd want to make sure nobody else can use it before you do." A horrifying vision appeared within Naruto's mind as his brain instinctively answered the question of what _he_ would do if he lacked all sense of morality. "You'd take advantage of your status as an Anbu captain and get permission from your superiors to kill your best friend first of all, and then you'd use Kotoamatsukami to convince the Council to give the order to slaughter the rest of your clan. And once you controlled the Council, you'd mind control Akatsuki and use _them_ in order to take over everything else."

"Yagura would have been too powerful to control, being host to the Three-Tailed Beast," Sasuke said. "So instead he installed a puppet ruler and took over the Land of Water that way. The attack on the Hokage tower was probably done for the same reason, which means the Third himself might not be fully under his control just yet." He stood and started pacing around, hands clasped behind his back as he circled the small stone room. "He'd have left some minions behind in Konoha, just in case. He could have easily implanted the spare Mangekyō Sharingan from Shisui into anyone he already used Kotoamatsukami on, and instructed them to mind control anyone else who might cause any trouble."

"Like Danzo, you mean?" The enigmatic commander of the Root Anbu forces was an obvious candidate for mind control, and not only because the bandages around the right side of his face could easily hide a Sharingan. "Who'd be the second? It'd have to be someone who has his eye obscured somehow..."

Naruto trailed off. Sasuke was looking at him like he was an absolute idiot, he realized.

A sick feeling welled up within his stomach. "Sasuke, you can't really think..."

"Of course it's _him,"_ Sasuke spat. "Who do you think the superior was who Itachi asked for permission to kill Shisui? Who do you think led the slaughter of my family that night? And where do you think that bloody nickname of his came from in the first place? _Cold-Blooded Kakashi, the Friend Killer?"_

"But that was just because he let his friends die at the Kanabi Bridge," Naruto protested. Kakashi could not _actually_ have gotten his eye from the Uchiha massacre: The timing simply did not add up. Unless, of course, the stories about him having the Sharingan before that were all just a lie... Now that he thought about it, the idea that anyone could graduate the academy at age six and become a jōnin at thirteen was so obviously propaganda that he felt stupid for ever having taken it at face value.

"You mean that ridiculous story where his friend happened to die in such a way as to conveniently leave him with _just one Sharingan?_ Even if that were true, Itachi could have simply used Kotoamatsukami on him and transplanted Shisui's eye afterwards. It's exactly the sort of twisted logic that man would come up with: Nobody would ever think to look for a Sharingan _in the eye socket of a man who already had one."_

Naruto's memory flashed back to the stories Kakashi had told of that day, back when the three genin had accompanied the bridge builder on his journey to the Land of Waves. Their teacher had never actually explained to them what happened, only said that it was _for them to figure out_ , and it was only now that Naruto realized that Kakashi himself might not remember. If he really had been mind controlled as Sasuke said, then all of that might have been some hidden part of his personality desperately pleading with his students to realize the truth...

Naruto swallowed. "You're just making assumptions. We don't actually know if any of that stuff is really true." Though even as he said that, he realized that Shisui's eyes had to be _somewhere_. Sasuke was right at least that the Council would not have let such power go to waste. And the same logic applied to all the Uchiha clan's regular Sharingan: If Kakashi had been able to implant one, there was no way they would not at least have attempted to repeat his success. "Even if you're right about the coup, Kakashi-sensei left the Anbu a long time ago. There's no telling if he was even around for the massacre."

 _"You don't leave the Anbu._ No one ever leaves the Anbu! You really think it was a coincidence that he of all people was assigned to be our teacher? This entire time he's been tasked to spy on us, to keep us alive in case we're needed while alerting the council if at any point we appear to become a problem. If your angry rants against Konoha's leadership had been any less ham-fisted and over the top we probably would have all been killed by now."

Naruto hesitated. There was truth to what Sasuke was saying, far too much of it to just ignore, and yet... It could not _actually_ be the case that Uchiha Itachi was behind everything. For one thing, he would only have been six when the attack on Konoha happened. Even if it was the other way around and Kakashi had been the one to mind control Itachi, fifteen would still have been far too young to-

He stopped. To do what, exactly? Use the Sharingan to cast a genjutsu on Naruto's mother and unleash Kurama upon the Village? Have Anbu-like knowledge of the Leaf's defences? Spread news of a crisis far away from Konoha so that Jiraiya would be away on a mission when it all happened? Arrange for a shadow clone to create an aura of darkness using an academy-level technique to make it look like Uchiha Madara was behind it all, and then dispel his cloned body when he was about to be caught?

All this time Naruto and Jiraiya had assumed that the Enemy was some ancient and powerful ninja, but there really was no proof that that was actually the case. What if they had been on the wrong track all along?

The flames of the braziers rustled softly.

"No one can know of this," said Sasuke. He had his back turned to Naruto and was once again looking at the stone tablet, the twin braziers burning brightly on either side of him. "If anyone were to find out what we know, the Council would be on us in an instant. Everything... everything would be for nought."

"I know," said Naruto. The words in his father's letter ran through his head once again. _The most important skill for any ninja to possess is the ability to remain hidden_ _._ "I won't tell anyone, I promise."

"It's not a matter of choice," said Sasuke. "Ino's clan is able to read minds, and you're definitely right that anyone with sufficient genjutsu skill can learn the same ability. Plus you already attracted the attention of the Council, and any number of them has reason to want to sift through your thoughts." When Sasuke turned around the Sharingan was blazing a furious crimson, and Naruto took an involuntary step backwards. "Fortunately, you're only a clone, and I already know from your fight against Gaara that your memories don't return to your main body if all of your chakra is expended at once."

It took Naruto a second to process the words, and then he opened his mouth to cry out. _"You bast-"_

The Sharingan burned into Naruto's skull, and the last he felt was the flash seal on his palm flaring into life as he faded into nothingness.


	44. Drifting Clouds and Akrasia

**A/N:** Apologies for the delay. I wanted to get the next few chapters in order so I can have regular updates for the remainder of the arc. It should be back to weekly updates now.

Btw, I realize that to some of you Naruto's inductive abilities may seem a bit like magic. Last chapter he only just heard about the existence of a mind-control technique, and within seconds he goes from there to a conspiracy involving every major character in the setting. Where is he pulling all this knowledge from? Is he secretly glancing at the script? Or is he just making things up as he goes along?

It's neither. Naruto is actually basing his conclusions on a real-life statistical concept called _prior probability_ , which lets him interpret everything he learns through a constantly updated model of the world. In this case, because he already knows that there's a shadowy figure pulling strings from behind the scenes (because of Minato's letter), he needs far less evidence to come to the conclusion that this figure is using mind-control. And since he already knew that no other technique has a cooldown time, he immediately realized that the 10-year waiting period to use Kotoamatsukami had to be a lie.

Basically, instead of treating every technique like an independent mystery, Naruto tries to figure out all of them at once by asking the one big question of how the world really works. And even though that last question is much harder, he also learns much more from his attempts to answer it.

* * *

 _"_ _Shikamaru? Are you up yet?"_

Shikamaru groaned into his bedroll, wishing fervently that he had been born into a profession that did not involve getting up in the morning. Mercifully, as a male he had never been required to sleep on one of those rock-hard Takamakura neck rests (and would probably have murdered anyone who tried to force him to), but somehow that thought had never managed to make his mornings any more cheerful.

"Shikamaru, you're going to be late!"

His mother was using the precise intonation that implied more trouble later down the line if he did not immediately comply. Sadly, expected cost-benefit analysis had never had much effect in prompting his body into action. Instead, he mentally ran through the willpower training exercise his father had taught him:

 _Disregard higher level thought. Focus all attention on the smallest part of your body and then continue from there. Use apathy against itself by turning your desired result into the path of least resistance._

He started by twitching the pinkie finger of his right hand. Once he managed that he started edging it closer to the side of his mattress, allowing the rest of his hand to be dragged along with it. He felt his hand stretch itself further and further from his bedroll until at last his body tumbled after it and he fell bodily onto the tatami mats that made up the floor of his bedroom.

"Shikamaru!"

"I'm taking a shower," he yelled back. _A half truth._ That was bad. Reflexive deception of others made it easier to deceive oneself. The Fourth Hokage had a whole saying about that, if he cared to remember it.

He stumbled into his private washing room, tossed his sleeping robes aside and activated the seal on the wall that caused a stream of warm water to blast into his face. Nearly all of Konoha had to make do with ordinary baths, as this kind of seal setup was considered a ridiculous luxury, but hard experience had taught his parents that if Shikamaru goes into a bath he does not soon come out again.

A minute later the seal ran out of water (as was its design), and Shikamaru dried himself, dressed and slogged down the stairs and into the kitchen. His mother was waiting for him at the breakfast table.

"Chōji is going to be here any minute," she admonished. "You're going to end up making him wait."

"How do you even know about that? It's not like I told you." He plonked down onto a pillow and began shoving some unidentified food into his mouth. He did not know why she bothered.

"I'm your mother," she said. "It's my duty to know."

Shikamaru did not roll his eyes, but only because there was no point. Somehow, his mother had never adjusted her expectations of him, despite literally knowing him his entire life. He did not know whether that was stupidly stubborn or amazingly impressive, but he knew better than to remark on it either way.

A few minutes later he was stumbling out into the blaring sunlight, and found Chōji already walking up the path to meet him. His rotund friend had long ago figured out how to time these things perfectly.

"Hey Shika! I guess I missed breakfast, huh?"

Then again, maybe not.

"Chōji." He waved at his teammate and then walked right past him and towards their destination, not wanting to spend any more time near his family's estate than necessary. "Why're we doing this, again? I thought I did a pretty good job explaining last time why the whole thing is stupid."

"That was when it was just Naruto." Chōji pulled out one of the rice balls which he always kept stuffed in his pockets in case of food-related emergencies, and started munching away happily. "Since other noble clans are involved now, dad thinks it would be better not to be left out."

Shikamaru groaned. In other words, their families were perfectly aware of the illegal jutsu exchange and were sending the two of them to keep an eye on things before deciding what to do about it. He let out a long sigh. One day, he would have to start caring about those kinds of Village politics as well. One day.

The two of them walked down the Village street in companionable silence. It was still early in the morning, the inappropriately bright and glaring sun notwithstanding, and there was a sense of quiet peace about the Village. That was the one bright spot about living in Konoha: Even when people were busy, even when ninjas were leaping over the rooftops in a panic while merchants loudly advertised their wares, everything still _felt_ peaceful. It was all the trees, he supposed. There was just something about the blending of manmade structures with natural flora that gave off a pleasing aesthetic, no matter how haphazardly some of it was built.

"Hey Shika," Chōji said hesitantly. "Do you think Naruto was right? About the peace ending soon?"

Shikamaru looked to his lifetime companion. "What's gotten into you? Naruto is never right about anything. You know that."

"Yeah," said Chōji. "But is he wrong, though?"

Shikamaru let out a sigh. All around them the birds were chirping and hopping merrily from tree to tree, as if they were only too happy to live in a village full of trained assassins. "I dunno," he said at last. "Based on historical precedent... We've had fourteen years of peace. I guess that's a pretty long time."

"Yeah," said Chōji. He did not say anything else.

They kept walking in silence, not bothering to take any of the rooftop shortcuts that their fellow shinobi favoured. If not for their forest green chūnin jackets they could probably have passed for a pair of civilians. In truth, they should not even be wearing those jackets: Their team had failed the chūnin exams miserably, and all of Shikamaru's supposed genius had done exactly nothing to change that. But in the end, family ties and politics had achieved what genius could not.

They finally spotted the others waiting for them near the short red bridge spanning the river where they had agreed to meet, and Shikamaru cursed as he noticed a mess of straw blond hair peeking out amongst the group. It was the wrong shade to be Ino and Naruto was not quite the type to wear pigtails in his hair, so that left only one possibility. "Temari of the Sand? What the hell is _she_ doing here?"

"The Sand invited themselves to the meeting," Chōji said awkwardly. "I guess I forgot to tell you that."

The eldest of the Sand Siblings greeted them with one hand on the hip of her black kimono, looking none too impressed. "Well, look who decided to come join us. Konoha's most noble clans – aside from all the others, that is. What, didn't want to come but were too afraid of being left out to stay away?"

Shikamaru ignored her, and not just because she was irritatingly correct. "What's going on here? Where is Team Seven?" There were five Leaf ninjas present in total as well as the Sand Siblings, and if anyone from the Hyūga clan saw them all standing together out in the open like this they would immediately realize that they were up to something. Tenten and Kiba might not think of that but the Kazekage's children most certainly _would_ , and the fact that they did not seem to care bothered him immensely.

"Naruto and Sasuke are getting some early morning training in with Lee," Tenten said. She was leaning on her meter-long sealing scroll and eyed Kankuro warily. The black-clad Puppet Master seemed to have his thoughts elsewhere, however, for he kept glancing around at the rest of the Village. "They should be here soon."

Shikamaru scratched his left ear, making sure to look maximally disinterested as he did so. "Seriously? Naruto can use Shadow Clones: How do you have the ability to be in multiple places at once and still manage to be late for your own meetings?" Not that Shadow Clones would ever prevent Shikamaru from oversleeping, but then he did not consider hypocrisy a vice so long as it was applied consistently.

"Uhm," said Chōji, "technically, I think we're the ones who are early. I guess your mother was a little overeager to get you out the door." He rubbed his belly hungrily, signalling that he had received Shikamaru's warning. "Hey, what about Sakura? Isn't she coming?"

"Sakura is at the hospital with Ino," said Kiba. The feral-looking boy was leaning against the wooden post of the river bridge, both arms crossed in a defensive posture. "Hinata and her cousin are doing their own training too, back at their place. I guess they're all too busy to spend time with the rest of us – more power to us though, right Akamaru?" His great white dog barked happily at the mention of his name.

Shino adjusted his tinted glasses, which glinted darkly beneath his hood despite the sun. "Aren't you the one who didn't show up last time because you thought the whole thing to be a waste of time, Kiba?"

"Hey, that was because..." Kiba spluttered angrily, scrambling for a clever comeback that did not exist. "Damn it Shino, sometimes it's like you have no sense of comradery, you know that?"

Shino opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out, for right in that moment an explosion reverberated through the soil of the earth, causing the bridge and the buildings around them to shudder. A plume of fire and smoke had blasted upwards in the centre of the Village, followed almost immediately by a second and a third. Screams of pain and terror welled up in the throats of nearby civilians, but the sound came out garbled and unnaturally slow. Shikamaru had already activated his secret technique.

Shikamaru had not lied to Asuma-sensei back when Naruto nearly revealed his secret to everyone during the chūnin exams: The symbol he made with his hands when he needed to think was not in fact a hand sign. It was just there to distract people like Naruto from what he was _really_ doing.

Chakra rushed through Shikamaru's head as he instinctively opened the First Gate, a part of his mind having already loosened the valve inside his brain in response to stress. All ninjas knew how to focus chakra to their eyes to improve their vision, or even to improve their sense of smell like Kiba, but it never occurred to most of them that you could do the same to the brain. And yet, the fact that you could think fast enough to avoid obstacles when moving at superhuman speed meant that it had to be possible to do exactly that, and the Nara clan taken that hidden knowledge and made it their greatest strength.

 _Focus, Shikamaru_. _Deep breaths._ Of course, taking breaths was impossible: His lungs had frozen along with the rest of the world, or at least it seemed that way relative to his massively accelerated thoughts. At the edge of his field of vision he could just about see the Sand Siblings moving to attack. Temari was reaching for the metal folding fan on her back, while Kankuro made for his wooden puppet. The latter's eyes were wide with panic.

 _Surprise? No, they were definitely waiting for this. A hitch in the plan, then. Perhaps it went off too early?_ It was impossible to tell for certain, but Shikamaru somehow doubted that the Kazekage had planned for his children to be surrounded by Leaf Ninjas when he made his move. _Time for some diplomacy, then._

Time sprang back into being as Shikamaru leaped into action. "Kankuro and Temari of the Sand, stop in the name of the Kazekage!"

The two Sand ninjas froze on the spot, only the hands on their weapons betraying their intentions. "What?"

"I know of your secret plan," Shikamaru said, ignoring the dazed and alarmed looks of his fellow Leaf ninjas (except Chōji, who stood ready to follow whatever orders Shikamaru was about to shout at him). "I know that the Kazekage is behind this attack, and that he didn't plan for you to be here right now." Even as he spoke, several more detonations shook the earth and the buildings around him, but he kept his eyes on his opponents. "If you care anything about your grieving father at all, you'll stand down right now and let things play out as he would command if he were here."

The black clad puppet master stared at him with a dumbstruck expression, but his sister was not so easily impressed. "He has a mental technique," she said. "Possibly genjutsu based. Flare your chakra at random intervals and check your thoughts for deviations." She lowered her right hand which had been on her fan and pointed it at Shikamaru, conveniently drawing her weapon in the process. "You. Nara. Give me one good reason why we shouldn't fight for our Village if what you say is true."

He raised his hands wardingly. "I'm not asking you to surrender, I'm just saying that a fight is against both our interests." The important thing was to keep them talking. Their meeting spot was near the outskirts of the Uchiha district precisely to avoid being spotted, but it was still only a matter of time until someone noticed them. "The outcome of this battle will be decided with or without us. There's no reason for a bunch of clan heirs to start killing each other right now – in fact our fathers would probably punish us for it."

Kankuro looked at the five Leaf ninjas that surrounded him and wetted his lips nervously. "Sis? We're uh, we're kind of outnumbered here. Maybe sitting this one out isn't such a bad idea."

"You're such a coward," she spat. "These are the people who killed Gaara, or did you forget?"

"Of course not," Kankuro said. He glanced at the giant siege crossbow which Tenten had pulled from her sealing scroll and which she was now aiming directly at him. "But..."

 _"_ _What the hell is going on?"_ Kiba had stepped forward and was motioning angrily at Shikamaru. "The Village is under attack! Why are we talking to these traitors instead of fighting them? And how the fuck did you know about their secret plan? Whose side are you on, anyway?"

 _"_ _Kiba,_ _shut up,"_ Tenten hissed. "You're ruining everything!"

Kankuro looked up in alarm. "Wait, ruining what? What are you planning?"

"Ignore them," said Shikamaru. "They're not-"

"Like hell," Kiba cut him off. "We don't take orders from you, rich boy. Come on Shino, Akamaru: Let's kick their asses!"

The two Sand Ninjas grabbed their weapons, and the world froze once more. Shikamaru cursed inwardly as the chakra pounded through his head, the aftereffects of opening the first gate already starting to make themselves known. It would be worse after the second time, he knew.

He glared dourly at Kiba, whose mouth was frozen mid-curse. Shikamaru was too used to working with his team; that was the problem. Chōji and Ino knew not to question his decisions in a situation like this, but he had forgotten to take into account that this was not true for his other class mates.

Which was another way of saying that Kiba was a bloody idiot.

He tried to calm his thoughts, but there was little he could do. The adrenaline was already frozen in his veins, his vision locked on to the two Sand ninjas and Kiba behind them with no way to change the view. In the corner of his eye he could see the blurry form of Tenten pressing the trigger of her siege crossbow, its string about to release its massive payload at the person who had scared her senseless during the chūnin exam. Chōji had drawn his bō staff and was using his technique to expand it to an impossible length. Shino's insects had flowed from his sleeves and were about to make their way to Temari in an attempt to take her out right from the start. Sensible, logical patterns of attack.

All of them would fail.

Kankuro and Temari had watched them fight during the exams, that was the problem. What was worse, Naruto had gotten them to share some of their techniques, and unlike them the Sand Ninjas had _planned_ for this attack. Kankuro had known right from the start that Tenten would target him with that crossbow. Temari had seen with her own eyes how dangerous Shino's insects could be, but she had also learned from Neji's fight that they could be taken out with area-of-effect attacks. They would have counters ready for every one of them.

Shikamaru sighed inwardly. Above them, he could just barely make out the clouds drifting lazily above them. The clouds always seemed to move slowly, no matter the speed at which one's thoughts flowed. Sometimes he wished he could just stay like that forever, hidden away in a world without time, but he always ran out of chakra eventually and the ache in his head was only that much harsher for his efforts.

Reality kicked back into being as Shikamaru formed the seals for his Shadow Paralysis technique, hoping against hope that he would make it in time. A black tendril extended from his feet towards Tenten's crossbow even as Kankuro flicked his fingers and pulled her aim just slightly off-kilter with his chakra strings technique. The string snapped tout as the bolt hurled in Kiba's direction, only for Shikamaru's shadow to snatch it out of the air at the last second and drive it into the ground. Temari swung her fan and blew every one of Shino's insects away with a hurricane of wind, _crushing_ them into nothingness through sheer air pressure. Shino drew his curved blades to engage in melee even as Tenten began to activate a seal on her palm, while Kiba pounced towards Kankuro and Chōji brought his enlarged staff down upon Temari. The world froze once more.

Shikamaru cursed to himself as bright spots flared up in his vision, a side effect of forcing his chakra coils open for the third time. He would have a pounding headache if only his heart had time to pound.

The seal on Tenten's palm was exactly the same as the one Naruto had used in his fight against Lee. That meant she was most likely about to blind everyone in front of her, which given that they surrounded the enemy would be absolutely disastrous. Temari had her back to Tenten and so would be able to instantly counter and kill the blinded Shino. Kiba would falter in his attack, leaving Kankuro free to intercept Chōji with a wide-area projectile attack that the Akimichi heir would not be able to see coming.

Ino was not here, that was the problem. Ino was supposed to let them communicate mentally, allowing them to instantly coordinate their attacks in accordance with Shikamaru's insights. Without Ino, the best he could do was to watch his friends die in slow motion.

 _If Ino was here._ It was funny. If someone had told him back at the academy that his last thoughts would be about Ino, he would have... He shook his thoughts away. There was no point in thinking about that now.

The world sprang back into motion as he sent his shadow racing towards Tenten, but it was already too late. A blast of light from Tenten's palm evaporated the tendril of dark chakra along with the last of his hopes. Temari hurled a knife from her sleeve directly at the blinded Shino, piercing right _through_ him. It was not a shadow clone: Shino had teleported away somehow at the last second. A faint trace of chakra in Shikamaru's skull left him just enough time to think _there's still a chance_ when the puppet on Kankuro's back suddenly opened up and closed around the puppet master like a protective shell, causing Kiba's attack to bounce off ineffectively even as a thousand poisoned needles fired in Chōji's general direction.

Shikamaru watched his childhood friend stagger and stare dumbly at the sea of metal imbedded in his chest. Some of the needles had bounced off the protective armour plating that his clan favoured, while others remained stuck in the green chūnin vest which he had never truly earned, but Shikamaru knew perfectly well that a graze from even a single one of them would have been enough to do the job. Chōji took one more uncertain step forward and then crashed into the ground like a mighty oak tree.

Tenten dropped her beam of light and picked up her sealing scroll, cursing at Kankuro as she hurled a string of kunai with explosive tags at him, but Temari merely turned and hurled them back at her with a single swing of her fan. The detonations rang out in tandem with the explosions that were going off all around the Village now, her screams making her just one more panicked girl among many. Her body was hurled backwards and crashed against the wall of a nearby building with an almost inaudible thud.

Kiba grabbed a pair of pills from his pocket and swallowed one while feeding the other to his dog, and almost immediately their skin seemed to redden. Nails and teeth grew into claws and fangs as pure nature chakra coursed through them until you could barely tell the two savage combatants apart. The pair circled their enemy with perfect synchronicity, Kiba pouncing towards Temari while Akamaru leaped onto the back of Kankuro's puppet and tore into its wooden frame. Before Shikamaru could react the top half of the puppet spun around and its four bladed arms each grabbed hold of one of Akamaru's limbs. The wooden arms whirled and spun in four separate directions, and with an almost casual motion tossed four separate bundles of crimson fur back at Kiba. The feral boy caught them in surprise, only to look on in horror as his lifelong companion seeped between his fingers like so many hopes and dreams.

Kiba opened his mouth to let out a feral scream, but Temari merely collapsed her folding fan and swung its metal base against his face with a wet crunch. She brought her fan down a second time as he fell, this time caving in his chest. Then she calmly turned around, and looked Shikamaru directly in the eyes.

Shikamaru reached into his pouch and drew a dagger. If he could use his technique to find some flaw in her defences, then maybe, just maybe...

The world slowed down again as she came charging towards him, his last remaining chakra proving too little to even freeze his surroundings completely. His skull burned as his brain was slowly being turned to mush from overuse of the dangerous forbidden technique, but what did it matter? His ability to care would soon be extinguished, one way or another. As the metal folding fan crashed into him and he flew backwards, all he could think was that he was glad that Ino had not been there at least.

Above him, the clouds floated gently across the sky. Konoha really was a peaceful Village, he thought.


End file.
